In 2024, Matthew West released Don't Stop Praying with an accompanying devotional book. I can't speak for the book, but the album felt like a lackluster offering from the veteran CCM artist. I'm happy to report, however, that West's latest album, Jesus is King, is a welcome return to form. While the music still feels restrained at times, West comes back to the blend of lyrical content that makes his albums enjoyable. Worshipful, radio-ready tunes mix with songs of encouragement directed at the listener. It's the winning combination that West excels at and that was missing from his last record...

It has been two years since Stryper's last studio album of all-original material, When We Were Kings (with the Christmas album The Greatest Gift of All coming out last year), so that means it's time for a new Stryper record. Throne of Thorns is the 18th album from the legendary Christian metal group, touting 11 strong tracks ready to rock your speakers. While some of the more recent records felt like copy-and-pasted versions of each other, their latest feels like lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Michael Sweet is pushing the band in a slightly different direction. Some of the elements that were beginning to feel tropey are done away with, and the music, while still familiar, has a tweaked sound and approach to it that gives Throne of Thorns a fresh approach...

It's truly a rare thing for a rock and roll band to take twenty-five years off between albums with almost nothing in-between. And it's even more rare to have all the original members back in the saddle for the latest go round. All this rarity comes with a natural bit of nervous energy and questions for both the band and their longtime fans. Will this latest outing be a dud and besmirch the band's fine track record? Will the band still have that mystical "it" that made them treasured in the first place? Can you capture the energy of the old days? Do you have anything more to really say to the world artistically...

There is no doubt that the fellows of for KING & COUNTRY are among the hardest working lads in all of the music and entertainment worlds. With multiple movies starred in and soundtracked the last few years, the Smallbone brothers must have calendars on their walls without a single day left blank...

Almost five years ago, teenage sensation Almost five years ago, teenage sensation Jenna Raine released her hit track "see you later (ten years)," a song that now has reached over 160 million streams on Spotify as of the writing of this review. Despite the streams counting up, Raine had yet to release any full-length project until last month when she put out her debut album, Jeans, Boys, and Jesus. Even though "see you later" is the song someone most likely would know, Raine's new record contains material that, in this reviewer's opinion, surpasses the quality of her viral hit...