Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

JFH Music Review


Various Artists, God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness (Songs From and Inspired By the Motion Picture)
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Various Artists
God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness (Songs From and Inspired By the Motion Picture)



Genre(s): Pop / Worship
Album length: 10 tracks: 36 minutes, 40 seconds
Street Date: March 30, 2018


READER RATING:   


God's Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness (Songs From and Inspired By the Motion Picture) is a perfectly serviceable and inoffensive synth-pop collection, including ten new songs from different Dream Records artists that sounds uniformly similar to one another except for one standout: "Collide" by Landry Cantrell.

Almost every song here follows the basic of pattern of choruses that build into an unsatisfactory synth drop. It all would make lovely background music for fans of the genre, but there's not enough meat to merit this compilation's existence. Even lyrically speaking, too many of the songs are only tangentially about God still being alive.

These are precisely the reasons why Landry Cantrell's entry stands out so well. In comparison to Matthew Parker's syrupy "Till the End of Time" or Abigail Duhon's "Rebound," which sounds like a self-empowerment anthem by Rachel Platten or Katy Perry, Cantrell's "Collide" has serious lyrical heft and interesting, layered production. (Keep an ear out for the added piano lines, background vocals, and drum fills in the second verse.) Quite frankly, "Collide" is the only track that seems like it wasn't thrown together in a week. More than that, it could've been a highlight on his fantastic 2017 record, Projections. Musically, Cantrell has a pre-chorus that's as melodic and memorable as all the choruses of the other songs, yet where those artists would call it a chorus and go straight to the synth drop, Cantrell amps things up into a big, driving hook that honestly feels like the only real chorus here. Lyrically, Cantrell echoes John 1:5, singing about how Christ's resurrection overcame the darkness in a way that will eventually heal all of creation. It's perfect for the Easter weekend in which this album was released.

There are some disappointments here (Long Hollow WAVE's song doesn't compare to how awesome their 2017 album was) along with some surprises; Mass Anthem's "Nothing to Lose" is another highlight, as strong as anything from their 2018 album, meanwhile Joel Vaughn's album opener, "Alive in Us," gets more fun with each listen. We Are Leo deserve some credit for having one of the most cross-centered tracks here, and kudos go to New Hope Oahu, who managed to slip the movie's title into the lyrics of "Yours Forever."

For fans of modern Christian radio, this album functions as a new playlist for you, but outside of "Collide," I'd recommend, instead, that you spend your time checking out Projections by Landry Cantrell, Upside Down by Long Hollow WAVE, and Through People Like Me by Mass Anthem.

- Review date: 3/31/18, written by Chase Tremaine of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

 

. Record Label: Pureflix Entertainment / DREAM Records
. Album length: 10 tracks: 36 minutes, 40 seconds
. Street Date: March 30, 2018
. Buy It: Apple Music
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)

  1. Alive In Us - Joel Vaughn (3:41)
  2. Nothing To Lose - Mass Anthem (3:29)
  3. Rebound - Abigail Duhon (3:00)
  4. Miracles - Matthew Parker (3:38)
  5. Light the Sky - Long Hollow Wave (3:17)
  6. Light Up My World (feat. David Josiah) - We Are Leo (3:36)
  7. Collide - Landry Cantrell (3:45)
  8. Till the End of Time - Matthew Parker (3:22)
  9. Yours Forever - New Hope Oahu (3:49)
  10. Burn For You - The Rock Music (5:03)

 

 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. 13!

Search JFH



This Friday, July 25, 2025
ALBUMS
Anchor & Braille New Mexico [Equal Vision]
B. Tee Told You [Syntax]
Bride Scarecrow Messiah CD Re-Release [Girder]
Empowered SALT - EP (independent)
Homesick Prodigals Different Good (independent)
KDNS After Eden [Syntax]
Olivia Lane Songs About Jesus (Deluxe Edition) [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard TASHA [Motown Gospel]
Kevi Morse Kingston We Winning [Syntax]
Pulpit Vomit Hospital Lens [Rottweiler]
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno Dance for Jesus - EP (independent)
Taylor & Co Worship Breakthrough - EP (independent)
Josh Wright LEAD (independent)

SINGLES
abenezer i was lost - Single [Gotee]
Joe L Barnes Good Shepherd (Studio Version) - Single [Provident]
Sho Baraka Still Got Faith (ft. L3xdivine) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion Easy To Please - Single [BEC]
Katty Camargo Shine Upon Me - Single (independent)
The CCC Collective Thankful - Single (independent)
C4 Crotona Mr. Gritty - Single [Syntax]
CXMMXNS Trust and Obey (feat. CAIN) - Single [Provident]
EJ Swavv & Nickwit2Ks Growth - Single [Syntax]
Forrest Frank GOD'S GOT MY BACK - Single [River House / 10K]
Andrew Gonoude Closer To You - Single (independent)
Noah Paul Harrison Oh Lord My God (Live) - Single [Bethel]
J.Solo All I Have (ft. Kaboose & MotionPlus) - Single [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope + Kings Kaleidoscope Hymns Amazing Grace - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Life In Me - Single [BEC]
Lecrae Bless You (feat. Torey D'Shaun) - Single [Reach]
TobyMac God Did It (feat. Jamie MacDonald) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Matt Maher Wait (Radio Version) - Single [Provident]
Hunter Plake Down to Earth - Single [BEC]
QEW JOYXFIX (ft. Stevie Rizo) - Single [Syntax]
Naomi Raine God Will Work It Out - Single [Tribl]
Rave Jesus Runnin' - Single [Provident]
Saints in Exile Bad Vibes - Single [Syntax]
Xander Sallows infinite - Single [DREAM]
Silent Reflection Left Me for Dead - Single [Syntax]
Michael W. Smith Your Love Is A Flood - Single [The Fuel]
John Stratton The Body and the Blood - Single [Pure Mosaic Services]
Regina Vandereijk You're the Light - Single (independent)
Joel Vaughn Feel It - Single [DREAM]
Zach Williams Killed A Man - Single [Provident]
Zauntee Jesus Down In Florida - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Bride Scarecrow Messiah Vinyl [Girder]

DVD
Jordan Smith The People's Hymnal DVD [Gaither]

This Saturday, July 26, 2025
SINGLES
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno What Would You Do? - Single (independent)

Next Friday, August 1, 2025
ALBUMS
Crash Rickshaw Big Sir - EP [Velvet Blue]
McKamey Legacy Holding to Truth [Horizon]
Ordained Thunder Roar [Girder]
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM Worship]

SINGLES
Dan Bremnes Human - Single [Curb]
Lauren Daigle Let It Be A Hallelujah - Single [Centricity]
Sleeping At Last Believe - Single (independent)

VINYL
Disciple Attack! (Limited Run Vinyl) Vinyl [Girder]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Get all of JFH's indie compilation now totally free!
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images