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2. Hush
3. Love
4. I Want To Know
5. Song To The Fatherless
6. Respect
7. I Miss You
8. Are You With Me
9. One Show
10. Old School
Possible other tracks:
- Night & Day
- Sedated
- Open Up The Window
- Letters From Sudan I want to preface this review by saying that this is based off of the ten-track pre-release I received and not the 14-song actual release coming in February. That being said, I think ten tracks is adequate to gauge and find the ballpark of the direction and message a band/artist is aiming for with an album. For Inhabited, that direction is hard to discern. Given the overarching theme of Inhabited's second major-label release (it's conveniently titled LOVE), one expects none other than songs about just that on the disc. Yet, what exactly is "love"? What exactly does it encompass? Isn't that extremely broad, and shouldn't every Christian-rooted release be about love anyway?
"We Will Live" introduces the album: an energetic, funky song with weird harmonies, celebrating "so much to live for" in life. It's repetitive, strange, and the bridge will leave you entranced for a few seconds. From here, the Gwen Stefani-influenced "Hush" sounds like it could be straight out of Love.Angel.Music.Baby. I can't deny that it's the perfect lead single, tailored for radio and uncompromising and redefining beauty, reminiscent of 1 Peter 3. The title track ["Love"] begins to reveal Inhabited's vulnerable side that some listeners may remember on the previous radio hit "One More Night." This power anthem seems apt as the album's title seeing that while Inhabited's spunky tracks are fun and lively, they have more of a knack for the epic-sounding ballads like this. The guitars brooding up into a soaring, emotional vocal performance by Sara makes it apparent nothing else can send the message of "I need you... I need you" across better.
"I Want to Know" is the first weak song on the album. This track with a four-note range seems out of place, trying hard to be vulnerable with the minor chords and modern at the same time with the rhythm but hitting neither of those targets. The result is a muddled mesh of sadness and energy that is not convincing. "Song to the Fatherless" almost sounds like it's from a different singer altogether. It's undoubtedly one of the better songs on the album, with effective harmonies accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a background orchestral arrangement. The lyrics might come across as cheesy sometimes, but like with "Love," this song really showcases Sara's expressive voice. The only real flaw of the song is that it ends all too abruptly; a lengthened ending with a stronger build-up would have served the purpose better. "Respect" returns to the mainstream sound, and although the chorus sounds out of place with the Aguilera-style offered in the beginning, it's very much Inhabited's style to have two distinct styles between the verses and chorus of the same song. With that in mind, this song is well-crafted, keeping the group's style while still remaining accessible. Bravo!
The rest of the album is distinctively weaker and, unfortunately, disposable. "I Miss You" has great piano playing, but the lyrics seem pitiful compared to the rich musical arrangement, especially the chorus - "I miss you so bad"? (By the way, it should be badly, grammatically speaking). The verses are actually deeper than the chorus, which makes the song weak in general. "Are You With Me" is another filler track, a call for unity, but with horrible lyrics: "are you with me? say yeah." This line, reiterated, fills more than 60% of the chorus. Some parts of the track, such as the bridge, actually remind me of something Rachael Lampa might have on her upbeat jams, but with half the energy. I think the band tried too hard and forgot to keep the message strong.
In a similar vein, "One Show" shows Inhabited's playfulness, and it's literally electric, with tons of punding guitars. "Old School" also has electric guitars, and like its title indicates, sounds more vintage than the other songs on the album. Yet both of these tracks, along with the few that precede it, cannot compare to the first tracks on LOVE. And here lies the album's major disappointment: as listeners and fans of Inhabited, we know that they are capable of offering more, as evidenced by a few tracks on the album, but their lackluster array of songwriting and creativity on this album renders us helpless at their mediocrity.
- Clem
Disclaimer: This review is based solely on the opinions of it's reviewer and is rated on how that reviewer enjoyed the content.
