CCM Quick Hits 2

Phil Wickham – Heaven & Earth

I never really thought it would happen.  Most music fans have some kind of an idea of what they think are the best attributes of different bands and artists and wish that they would just really go with that.  Naturally, of course, we are generally disappointed when they drop that all together and do the opposite of what we wanted (because of course we know so much, right?)  Phil Wickham has always been able to write a creative line or two, but his live show always had so much fervency than what was shown in the studio.  With Heaven & Earth, Wickham has finally shown that he can take that European rock style and mix it with  the right amount of pop to write a hook that is worthy of our ears.

Quick Hit: Bullseye!

Ayiesha Woods – Christmas Like This

Something I love about Christmas albums is that it gives artists a chance to put their own spin on classic tunes, which is generally much easier to digest than either complete re-treads that sound exactly like the original or new tunes that are usually just poor rip offs of other songs anyway.  Ayiesha Woods has brought her gospel/soul style to the Christmas table and has left us with nine songs that sound like they belong in those old black and white (or colorized) movies that your parents would make you watch on Christmas morning even though you’d rather be playing with your new toys.  A little bit of fun, a dash of sass and a whole lot of charisma make for an enjoyable sleigh ride that you wouldn’t feel bad about purchasing a ticket to come along.

Quick Hit: Bullseye!

Jadon Lavik – The Road

The grim reality is that there are more bands out there than you can count, even if you’re a music junkie like me who tries to know at least a little bit about every band and artist out there.  Jadon Lavik’s latest album is acoustic driven, with mostly his own stuff, plus a version of one of those sweet old hymns (Come Thou Fount).  He has a pleasant enough guitar play and voice that has that chill coffee shop feel to it, but there isn’t much to stand out above the rest.  If this is the type of music you really dig, then one more album is always welcome to the stack, but if you just want the best stuff out there, then this is just kind of run of the mill.

Quick Hit: Pass