What helps is how personal the worship feels. The sparse instrumentation helps set the mood, while the simple lyrics convey an honest message. Some tracks focus solely on worship, like "Generations," which draws from an Old Testament practice of passing stories of the faith on to our children. Most of the tracks, however, deal with Watson trying to get into the right headspace for praising God. "Closer Than a Brother" finds him overwhelmed but taking comfort in the Lord, "Feeling like I never get a break/Wish I could just fly away/…But You are close to me." A memorable run of tracks is "Only Your Love" and "Remind Me." The former song revels in how Jesus' love pursues us and accepts us, but it practically flows into the latter track where Watson passionately cries for reminders of that love.
This plays overall toward the mood of this record, which is vulnerable worship. Watson is very clearly praising God (not much deconstruction here), but he's doing it in a way missed in much of the more popular worship music. Lyrically, these songs don't push the bounds of poetry and sometimes (especially on the title track) start to sound like everything else out there. But Watson manages to pull something off to distinguish himself, whether taking the lyric in a different direction or letting the music make a turn. Also, while this is firmly pop worship, he varies the individual tracks enough to keep things interesting.
Again, Feeling doesn't rewrite the worship genre, but it does feel fresh. The album's brevity also helps, making it more appealing to revisit. Michael Hughes Watson is incredibly talented and prolific and continues to impress with his creative output. Longtime fans should enjoy this album, while newcomers should be easily won over.
- Review date: 4/15/21, written by John Underdown of Jesusfreakhideout.comRecord Label: None
Former Original Newsboys Member, John James, Launches Campaign to Fund New Music! Thu, 02 May 2024 16:35:00 EST |
Lauren Daigle Performs at GRAMMY on the Hill Awards Thu, 02 May 2024 16:25:00 EST |
Joseph SD Opens Up About Grace in New Single, "This Life" Thu, 02 May 2024 16:15:00 EST |
Illustrate and Procyse Continue Prepping For Their Upcoming Collab Project With New Single Thu, 02 May 2024 16:10:00 EST |
Jordan St. Cyr to Release Sophomore Album "My Foundation" June 14 Thu, 02 May 2024 16:00:00 EST |
Zane and Donna King Find Joy in the Journey with "Everything Good" Wed, 01 May 2024 14:00:00 EST |
AMERICAN IDOL Broadcasts LIVE Tribute to MANDISA featuring Colton Dixon, Danny Gokey and Melinda Doolittle Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:05:00 EST |
New Studies Link Improved Mental Health to Use of Digitally-Delivered Faith and Prayer Thu, 02 May 2024 20:42:48 +0000 |
DAD TIRED FOUNDER JERRAD LOPES EXPANDS POPULAR MINISTRY WITH DEBUT CHILDREN’S TITLE Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:07:46 +0000 |
“Anything Goes” by Andrew Kerhoulas of Brother K Thu, 04 Apr 2024 02:54:00 +0000 |