Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

JFH Music Review


Citizen Way, Love Is A Lion
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Citizen Way
Love Is A Lion



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Pop / Pop Rock
Album length: 11 tracks: 41 minutes, 7 seconds
Street Date: October 18, 2019


READER RATING:   


While there probably isn't a rule etched in stone or listed in a handbook somewhere saying as much, most musicians, whether they are consciously aware of it or not, tend to order the songs on a given project so that the first few cuts are among the strongest. This is certainly the case with Love is a Lion, the third effort from the Chicago-area trio, Citizen Way. With a pop sensibility as sweeping as it is melodic, it's hard to imagine a more rousing album (or concert) opener than "The Lord's Prayer." Just as impressive is "Love Has Won," a loping, folk-tinged anthem of hope to the lonely and hurting.

Unfortunately, like so many of their contemporaries, the CW collective spends the next seven slots in the running order churning out one mostly nondescript, made-for-radio pop/worship number after another. To the group's credit, the title track does rise ever so slightly above the average value thanks to its infectiously terse tribal rhythms. And "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is likewise blessed with a modestly engaging light funk vibe. By and large, though, the second section of the record is saddled with a lethargy and repetition that ultimately serve to bring its encouraging opening momentum to a virtual halt.

Thankfully, the proverbial ship is righted, for the most part, by the two closing compositions. The beautiful piano-based ballad, "Be Still," takes the best aspects of Christian pop over the past four-plus decades and distills them down into a single four-minute piece that is as evocative as it is timeless. And the decidedly old school lyrics found on the joyous Bart Millard-assisted gospel rave-up, "WaveWalker," ("I'm a wavewalker/ dancing on water/ When the devil tried to shake me/ I just pray harder") are just the sort of soulful infusion that inspirational pop radio needs here in the latter half of 2019.

Top 40 listeners will likely enjoy the album from start to finish given the high quality of the opening and closing song pairs together with the fact that the remainder of the release is roughly on par with the bulk of what they hear on radio. For everyone else, though, the best approach would be to skip the middle portion of the record - aside from perhaps "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and the title cut - and focus their attention on the tracks at either end.

- Review date: 11/15/19, written by Bert Gangl of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

 

. Record Label: Fair Trade Services
. Album length: 11 tracks: 41 minutes, 7 seconds
. Street Date: October 18, 2019
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon.com (CD)
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)

  1. The Lord's Prayer (3:53)
  2. Love Has Won (4:22)
  3. Mountains (3:11)
  4. God You Are Good (3:40)
  5. Peace Like A River (3:16)
  6. The Hope Song (4:03)
  7. Love Is A Lion (3:24)
  8. You Loved Me Anyway (3:35)
  9. Hallowed Be Thy Name (3:52)
  10. Be Still (4:37)
  11. WaveWalker (feat. Bart Millard) (3:14)

 

 JFH Album Sample Player

 



Leave a Comment

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

Search JFH



This Wednesday, August 13, 2025
ALBUMS
Various Artists Songs We've Been Trying To Tell You About (And Others We Haven't), Vol. 14 [JFH Music]

This Friday, August 15, 2025
ALBUMS
Mark Bishop Grandkids - EP [Sonlite]
The CCC Collective Brooklyn Culture (independent)
Equippers Worship Awe [DREAM Worship]
The Final Witness Beneath The Altar [Rottweiler]
Grammatrain Flying Collector's Edition CD [Girder]
Grammatrain Lonely House 30th Anniversary Edition CD [Girder]
Katy Nichole Honest Conversations [Centricity]
Relentless Pursuit Apocalypsis (independent)
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM]
Joel Vaughn Feel It - EP [DREAM]

SINGLES
Johan Åsgärde Coming Home - Single [Gotee]
Dave Barnes Everything But Mine - Single (independent)
Jeff Deyo There is a Fire - Single (independent)
Steven Malcolm All God - Single [Curb]
Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, & Elevation Worship So So Good (Live) - Single [Fair Trade]

VINYL
Grammatrain Flying Vinyl [Girder]
Grammatrain Lonely House 30th Anniversary Edition Vinyl [Girder]
Newsboys Going Public Vinyl [Girder]

Next Friday, August 22, 2025
ALBUMS
Lecrae Reconstruction [Reach]
Lizzie Morgan Not My Will [Provident]
Josiah Queen MT. ZION [Capitol CMG]

SINGLES
Dust and Grace Hallelujah - Single [MTS]
Good Weather Forecast Today (feat. Elijah Thomas) - Single [DREAM]
Roxanne Grace Try Again - Single [DREAM]
Mainstream Worship Invitation - Single [DREAM Worship]
V1 Worship Been So Faithful - Single [DREAM Worship]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Need proofreading and editing help? We've got you covered! Click here to learn more
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images