Economy, the new album by folk/worship artist John Mark McMillan just came out on November 1st. Don't let the pink album cover fool you, this right here is real music. It's full of powerful lyrics and guitar shreds, not to mention the deep almost country-sounding voice of John Mark McMillan. I got to see this guy at Stubb's earlier this semester and he gave us a sneak peak of this album by playing some of its songs. While I won't say that his live show is the most interesting - he was usually very stiff, also having monotonous facial expressions - he was still extremely good. John Mark's songs on this album are definitely more rhythmic than songs on his previous ones, yet are still filled with the same rawness and artistry.
I love how this album goes seamlessly from uptempo to somber. It is cohesive in every way and the songs flow perfectly into one another. The choruses are triumphant yet simple, making you feel as though hundreds of people could be singing along to them. This is a bit different from his previous stuff, which was a lot more simplistic in sound. Here however, there are tons of face-melting guitar solos and heavy drum beats.
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| John Mark McMillan at Stubb's in October |
John Mark McMillan's voice alone is a reason to listen to this album. It is deep and gritty, and very enunciated. He sometimes hits some gentle falsetto that show his disposition like in "Sins are Stones". Other times he belts out the lyrics like in "Daylight". "Chemicals" and "Seen in Darkness" also have a soft and simple female backing harmony that I really enjoy.
Check out his YouTube channel to see some awesome videos of him performing tracks from this album in some really cool places, called the "Takeaway show":
http://www.youtube.com/user/Johnmarkmcmillan
Vocals: 8
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