Tag: video

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Music Review: ‘Warr Acres’ by Warr Acres

Title: Warr Acres
Artist: Warr Acres
Genre: Worship/Pop/Rock

iTunes / YouTube / Spotify

Tracklisting:

  1. Undignified
  2. Sound The Alarm
  3. You Are Joy
  4. Maker of Miracles
  5. Hymn of Remembrance
  6. Shout Your Love
  7. Heaven Bound
  8. Saviour, Crucified
  9. Hold To This Truth
  10. Shadow of The Steeple
  11. Our God Lives

Review: Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love music – and especially how much I love Worship. From the hymns of old that stir the passions and build a solid bedrock, to the intimacy of a Vineyard album, to the all out big style of Hillsongs – and about everything in between (well, with one or two notable exceptions)

I got sent this album to review for the Cross Rhythms website, along with three others, and listened to it pretty soon after opening the jiffy bag.

Just so you’re aware, I hadn’t heard of this band and had done no research at the point of my first hearing it so I didn’t know what to expect and wasn’t anticipating the sounds that burst out, nor the depth of the lyrics that accompanied them.

It didn’t take long to dig out a wealth of information on the group, they’ve got quite a presence in the States and are actually the worship band formerly known as VMusic from Victory Church in Warr Acres, Oklahoma (hence the name). With the addition of some new members, a tweak to a more pop/rock sound, and a more “commercial” image they have recreated themselves as this eclectic mix of tunes with worship still at the core.

When I say”commercial”, that isn’t a negative remark – please don’t get me wrong there! But they’ve shifted from the stage based worship leading image that you see in the VMusic videos on YouTube to the very dramatic and quirky-mainstream style that is visible on their video for Undignified (see the HD link at the top of this article, or the lower res video at the bottom)

So we have here a band that has re-imagined itself, kept it’s core heart of worship oriented music and launched this collection of songs – some that were previously recorded with VMusic and others that are brand new. What is the end result of this?

One word sums it up – WOW!

Seriously, this is a brilliant album that mixes up inward, upward and outwardly focussed lyrics to both build faith, praise our Creator and challenge us to get off our blessed assurances and look beyond the four walls of our churches.

“Undignified” is a rousing opener that leaves you in no doubt as to the passion of the band. The vocals are provided by Dove Award nominee Kristy Starling and the lyrics are a bold declaration of praise and worship. If this song doesn’t get your toes tapping and your head bouncing then you’ve probably not got the volume turned up as there is no way this song can be enjoyed as a passive listener.

“Maker of Miracles” is a wonderful ballad style song but with an uplifting chorus. The words pick up on the life and words of Christ, as well as His promises, bringing a real sense of majesty, awe and hope as the duet of Kristy along with Lael Louthan rings out and surrounds you with a sense of the majesty of the King.

With its catchy and somewhat retro beat, “Heaven Bound” is a great pop track – but don’t make the mistake of dismissing it as a jaunty bubblegum tune as the songwriting passions cut through once again full of scriptural roots, uplifting visions of eternity and the ever-present thick vein of worship that runs through this whole collection of songs.

I could go on and on about the tracks, they are all worthy of mention, but the one I really do need to mention is “Shadow of the steeple”. This is a call to action that leaves you in no doubt of what our call is – to get out and be Jesus to the people around us, on the streets, in our neighbourhoods and in the communities that we live in. Those comfy chairs in our churches suddenly feel rather itchy, those pews are definitely growing thorns as you take in the words of this brilliant song.

I can’t wait to hear more from these folks – I am genuinely excited by what I hear and I cannot stop listening to these songs. Go listen to the album on YouTube, Spotify or Last.Fm and then buy it. You won’t regret it and you may find yourselves being challenged, energised, raised up and drawn closer to God as the passionate heart of the music pumps out your earbuds/speakers/tin-cans.

Score: 5/5

Warr Acres – Undignified
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Alive! Death could not keep Him, the grave had no power, hell was defeated!

After the sombre meditations of Thursday and Friday, the main event and the reason for it all came to fruition on the third day.

Today is the real birthday for all Christians, the day that Christ came to Earth for – to free us all from sins grasp and to give us an open road to our Father in Heaven.

I *love* Easter – with a passion. Something in my spirit, in my soul and in my body just leaps for joy at this time of year. I know that I have a future, there is a great eternity for me all because of Jesus breaking the stranglehold of sin and the grave.

The story is not yet over – we don’t know when the final chapter will take place – but the fact is that there is only our pride and our own minds that can get in the way of us knowing Gods Love.

I rediscovered it 3 years ago, and there’s not a day goes by where I don’t rejoice in that fact.

My prayer is that if you haven’t discovered this joy, that you will come to know it.

JOY!
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More than one man can take

It was 24 hours that would make a day in the life of Jack Bauer seem like a cuddly fuzzy teddy bear.

It started with a dinner party with the closest friends a man could have, followed by a sing-song and a walk in a garden, then some deep soul-searching. This was then rounded off with the cruellest of betrayals along with the desertion of friends and even being denied by the closest of them all, a farcical pretence of justice, a beating to within an inch of his life, humiliation, one of the most tortuous deaths known to man, rejection by a father and a descent to hell that no man can begin to comprehend.And that was just the first 24 hours – the story wasn’t over there. Continue reading “More than one man can take”

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To all the pioneers–??????? (that’s thank you if you didn’t know!)

Forget politics, budgets, priorities, ethics, religion, race – put them all to one side for now and just think for a moment. Fifty years ago today the human race took flight and left the earths atmosphere for 108 minutes.

Major Yuri Gagarin from the USSR climbed aboard Vostok 1 and left Baikonur Cosmodrome Site No.1  in what is now Kazakhstan and headed out to become the first human to go into space.

It’s remarkable, humbling, amazing, outstanding and mind-blowing. The human spirit for adventure, for exploration, for pioneering never ceases to amaze me (and yes, I know there are cynics who will say that this was just about the US and the USSR trying to outdo each other) – we’ve seen it throughout all of history, let’s face it we wouldn’t be where we are today without pioneers. We see it all the time with people pushing boundaries and trying to do more, be more, find more, go further and understand more.

The Russians made it into space first, the USA made it to the moon and then the motivation and the drive to take us forward got lost. The US lost interest in moon landings and started to see how much it was costing, the Russians had lost the ultimate race and had money concerns of their own along with the struggle to match the western world for weaponry in the cold war.

Continue reading “To all the pioneers–??????? (that’s thank you if you didn’t know!)”

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Through it all – He is Holy

"When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. "


"When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. "

At the beginning of the year nobody would have predicted the events that have been taking place in recent weeks, and that are still taking place today, as waves of civil unrest sweep across Africa and the Middle-East and event threaten to touch nations such as China. We’re not removed from it here in the UK either as rumblings against cost-savings, student fees, petrol prices and more lead to threats of strikes and “action” within our nation.

On top of this there have been the natural disasters in Australia and New Zealand, the on-going rebuilding of Haiti and Pakistan and the war in Afghanistan and conflicts in Iraq.

The situation in Libya has particularly shaken and scared me as I’ve read and watched the news of people being killed by Gaddafi and wondering just what atrocities his insanity will lead to. I’ve found my heart crying out and my soul shaken and unsettled, with the only possible response being to call out to God for His peace, mercy and endless Love.

Then one song struck home with me and made me realise that through it all, and even if we can’t see it, He is Holy. Gods heart breaks at the suffering and the hurting, and it’s hard sometimes to see suffering and equate that to a loving Father – but without getting into the whole debate over free will etc all I can say is that faith and personal experience speak louder than words to me.

Continue reading “Through it all – He is Holy”