On their third release, Anberlin has more than come of age. Once again teamed with super-producer Aaron Sprinkle (Kutless, Hawk Nelson), the band delivers arguably their best work yet. Lead singer Stephen Christian has one of the best voices in rock, in my opinion. On this disc he also delivers very introspective musings in the lyrics. The album kicks off with the frenetic, hard-rocking track “Godspeed.” Pop-friendly cuts include “A Whisper And A Clamor”, and “Adelaide.” The band slows it down a bit on “Inevitable”, and on the acoustic gem “The Unwinding Cable Car.” Another highlight is the powerful chorus of “Dismantle.Repair.”, one of the album’s strongest cuts. The last song, “Fin”, gives the album a rousing ending, starting slow and speeding up to an emphatic conclusion. If you buy the special edition, there are three bonus tracks and a DVD documenting the making of the album. The three songs alone make it worth the extra money. Also, if you download the single for “Godspeed” on iTunes, it comes with a bonus track “Haunting”, which is amazing-worth the $1.98, and should have been included on the album. The band is very entertaining live as well.

The prolific brothers Jason and Ronnie Martin are back, but this is their first joint outing. Jason fronts the new wave band Starflyer 59, while Ronnie’s band is Joy Electric, an electronica act. Here, they collaborate to create a very cool combination of electro-rock and new wave pop with a retro feel. These guys are masters of the synthesizer. Highlights include “The Harsh Effects of Time”, “The Missionary”, and “Fears to Remember.” This is also great workout music.

This independent duo consisting of Chris and Felicity Combs has released an outstanding six-song EP. Musically it is excellent, but the obvious factor that sets this album apart is Felicity’s vocal prowess. The songs are piano and guitar-driven, contain deft string arrangements, and very honest lyrics. All six songs are enjoyable. Two standouts are “Fools Gold”, and “Black Mountain.” The disc is a quick listen, and you might find yourself letting it repeat. You can listen to it and buy it at www.indieheaven.com.

Relient K has been very consistent over the years, and remarkably, they have again raised the bar. This collection of songs rocks, in its entirety. Except for one 15-second interlude, every song is iPod-worthy. The album’s opening track “Plead the Fifth” finds the guys skillfully harmonizing a cappella, Beach Boys style. Too bad it’s only a minute and thirteen seconds long as it leaves the listener wanting more. The lead single, “Must Have Done Something Right” features a killer hook. Other strong tracks are “Forgiven” and “The Best Thing.” The band finishes the album with a dramatic, eleven-minute song called “Deathbed”, which tells the story of a man dying of lung cancer who reflects on his life and poor decisions, but recounts the night when he put his faith in Christ. And to top it off, Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman sings the final verse. Enough said.

Formerly known as Something Like Silas, Future of Forestry has crafted an excellent album. Lead singer Eric Owyoung studied classical orchestration and conducting in college, and this is evident in the songs. Some of the standout tracks include “Open Wide”, “All I Want”, and “Sunrising”. U2 and Coldplay influences are noticeable, but the band has its own sound. They spent a lot of time adding very cool sound effects to create multi-layered soundscapes, and the results are definitely ear-pleasing. Owyoung’s excellent voice sounds a bit like that of Martin Smith of Delirious on some of the slower tracks. On “If You Find Her”, he shows ability to hit the high notes as well. As an aside, the 2004 album “Divine Invitation” the band made under their former name is also worth checking out. The band’s new name was taken from a C.S. Lewis poem.

This independent act has delivered the finest debut of the year so far. The defining element of Deas Vail is the incredible falsetto of classically trained vocalist Wes Blaylock. The album is a great collection of pop rock tunes that are mainly piano driven, but the electric guitars do come out on a few songs. Case in point, “Surface”, which is one of the best cuts, and features very cool background instrumentation, as do many other selections on the album. Another outstanding track is “Rewind”, which finds Blaylock singing “This is how it feels to break up soundwaves, and fall into a quiet place…” Other standouts are “Anything You Say”, “Life In These Little Boats”, and “This Place is Painted Red.” This quintet is dripping with musical talent, and you won’t be disappointed.

Group 1 Crew has given hungry hip hop fans a solid debut. They immediately draw comparisons to the Black-Eyed Peas due to their musical style and band format, which includes three emcees, two of which are male, and one female who is a very talented singer. The group’s format is also reminiscent of the hip-hop act The Fugees, which included Lauryn Hill, circa 1996. As for the music, there are lots of quality beats, rhymes, and choruses. The strongest track might be the haunting “Forgive Me”, which features an urgency that resembles that of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.” The chorus is worth mentioning: “Lord though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death/I’m not scared cuz you’re holding my breath/I only fear that I don’t have enough time left/To tell the world that there’s no time left.” The poignant “I Have A Dream”, is also strong lyrically, and all three members display potent rhyme skills. Some of the disc’s strongest moments occur on the choruses sung by Blanca Reyes, as in “Can’t Go On.” If you’re looking for some good hip hop, look no further.

Back with his third solo album, tobyMac doesn’t disappoint. He delivers a disc filled with catchy songs, and on this outing he sings more than he rhymes, which is a welcome change of pace because he sings well, and the rap-core style is becoming a bit outdated. The lead-off single, “Made to Love” features an infectious chorus, as well as live strings and horns that add a cool sound to the mix. Other standouts are “I’m For You”, and “Face of the Earth.” The track “Boomin” is exactly that, and “Ignition” also provides fans with a high octane anthem. Another strong cut is “Lose My Soul”, a prayerful duet with Kirk Franklin that emphasizes focusing on God in the face of the cares of the world. If you’ve liked Toby’s solo stuff in the past, or dc Talk for that matter, this is for you.

This is a fairly complete collection of Nichole’s best. It features the amazing “Holy”, and the hit single “Brave” (which made the soundtrack of the movie Catch And Release). Of course, it also features some of her earlier material, such as the honest “To Know You”, and “Who You Are.” The album includes two new tracks, the soaring single “Sunrise”, and “Finally Free”, the new theme song for Women of Faith. In my opinion, a couple other songs from the Brave cd should have been included here, such as “Lay It Down“, and “No More Chains.” But if you like Nichole’s music and don’t own much of it, this a very good disc to pick up.

Bethany Dillon “Waking Up”

On her third album, melodies abound from this precocious singer/songwriter. This record is a little more pop-oriented than her sophomore effort, and she continues to grow and mature as an artist. There are a number of songs that are strong enough to be radio singles, including the title track “Waking Up”, “The Kingdom”, “Change”, and “Something There.” Other songs showcasing strong choruses are “When You Love Someone”, and the melodic, piano-driven “Let Your Light Shine.” This is Bethany’s best yet, but with her talent and still being just 18, she’ll probably eclipse even this effort in the future.

In 2004, Taylor Sorensen released an outstanding album called The Overflow on Michael W. Smith’s Rocketown label. The album received an “A” rating from CCM, but for whatever reason did not get much attention. Taylor has a great rock and roll voice, and sounds amazingly like a young Bono. I recently discovered his website, and found that he has now formed an independent band called the Trigger Code. Taylor wrote and produced every song on the band’s album entitled They May Lock Us Up, They May Make Us Bleed. They come out firing on the album opener “Come On Let’s Do It Ok!”, a blazing rock anthem. “Tornado” features background bells that create a sound similar to that of U2’s hit “I Will Follow.” Another standout is “I Am Just Like Cain (But The Blood Ain’t On My Hands)”, where Taylor compares mankind’s sinful status to that of Cain, but emphasizes that God does not see the redeemed as guilty due to Christ’s sacrifice. Other great tracks are “Don’t Walk Alone”, “Bulletproof”, and “The Hours.” If the right people hear this band and/or it works with the right producers, they should eventually explode. It appears the cd is only available at the band’s website: www.myspace.com/triggercode

CCM’s 2006 New Artist of the Year has returned with his second album. Aaron Shust enjoyed well-deserved success last year with his debut disc Anything Worth Saying. This time around, he continues where he left off with vulnerable lyrics and worshipful themes. The opener, “Long Live the King” is a nice modern rock track. “Give Me Words to Speak” is the finished product of the opening interlude on his first album, and it turns out to be one of the best tracks, even though in the liner notes he says he originally didn’t want it on this album. On “Can’t Hide From Your Love”, Aaron hits some impressive high notes with a lilt that he didn’t show on his first album, and lyrically bares his soul with great authenticity. This record is a great worship experience with phenomenal songwriting, but contains less up-tempo material than his debut.

New act Rush of Fools has come up with a nice debut. Working with experienced producers Matt Bronleewe (Plumb, Leeland), and Jason Ingram (Bebo Norman), they deliver a disc that mainly consists of worshipful rock tracks. The lyrics are nothing groundbreaking in the world of modern rock worship, but singer Wes Willis has an excellent voice and the music is very melodic and radio-friendly. The hit single “Undo”, “We All”, and “All We Ever Needed” are a few standouts.

After Edmund “Hello” - Their debut cd comes out on 7/10. I’ve heard four songs, and if the rest of them are as good, it could be one of the best albums of the year.

NEEDTOBREATHE “The Heat” - Releases on 8/29. The new single sounds great.  If their sophomore offering is as good as their debut, fans will be very happy.

DJ Maj “Speckled Goats” - Releases on 7/17. Hip-hop DJ/emcee is back with a new compilation. Heard a few previews, but couldn’t tell much based on that.

Tidbits:

Mute Math has recorded a cover of the original Transformers theme song, which is slated to be on the soundtrack for the movie.

Paul Wright is releasing a worship album this fall. He has now gone independent. I heard one song from it, sounds pretty good. If you don’t know his stuff, check out his 2003 album “Fly Away”, it’s the perfect summer soundtrack.

Plumb and The Afters are supposed to be releasing albums this fall as well.

Happy listening-

Chris