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

JFH Music Review


for KING & COUNTRY, Hope Is What We Crave | LIVE
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

for KING & COUNTRY
Hope Is What We Crave | LIVE CD/DVD



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: DVD + CD (9 tracks)
Street Date: August 27, 2013


Sometimes the old cliché, that "you have to see a band live" to really hear the songs the way they were supposed to be experienced, is really true. When for King & Country's first album, 2012's Crave, first appeared on the music racks and iTunes page, many (including this reviewer) saw the Calvin Klein-like, soft lighted album cover of Luke and Joel Smallbone (brother's of CCM veteran Rebecca St. James) and immediately wrote the band off as just another pop band, the kind that come and go in the music industry every year.

But after having seen the band live this summer, and now on film in Hope Is What We Crave, it's a great pleasure to report that for King & Country is a fine live band, with a sense of the epic, and that the songs on their debut album, Crave, soar in a live setting. Song tempos are amped up a bit here, rhythms are sharper and the Smallbone brothers sing with an urgency and energy that comes with crowd interaction. In fact, every song from the debut album matures in the live setting.

Starting off with a cheeky, Braveheart-inspired crowd cheer, the Smallbone brothers show a command of the stage that belies their band's young stature (possibly honed from many years appearing here and there in their big sister's concerts and albums). First song "Fine Fine Life" starts the action out well, with intriguing and thought-provoking lyrics about "Jesus on the side of the road with a busted tire" and a theme of service possibilities wherever we go, both the live album, and concert film hit a high note right from the start.

In "Light It Up," Joel Smallbone takes a minute to explain the origin of the song (a good friend of the brothers who struggled with clinical depression), and demonstrates that a good story, told succinctly, can illuminate a song for the audience. In "Pushing On A Pull Door," the crowd's clapping and energy elevates the song decidedly, and the band's frantic flying all over the stage (seen in the concert footage) playing all manner of instruments, adds to the tense musical pulse. Epic Christmas song "Baby Boy" proves to be the highlight of the set, with majestic sleigh bells in the intro and a musical build in the mode of Coldplay or Mutemath. The seven band members increase the size of the music, and make for a big, big sound.

As for the film side of things, the concert is well shot, with multiple cameras and expert cutting that makes the stage show (and the small theater that the band is playing in) seem much, much grander. Playing all kinds of instruments, the band gives the filmmakers lots to capture, and there is not a dull moment to be had. The DVD also contains a music video, the behind-the-scenes making of that video and a few short testimonies from the band about the inspirations behind the songs.

All this adds up to a great package of music, well performed and captured. If the band can harness this energy, then for King & Country's next album will be one to look out for in the near future.

- Review date: 9/15/13, written by Alex "Tincan" Caldwell of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

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

 

. Record Label: Fervent Records / Word
. Album length: DVD + CD (9 tracks)
. Street Date: August 27, 2013
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)
. Buy It: Amazon.com

    Disc One - DVD
  1. Fine Fine Life - Live Performance
  2. Light It Up: From the Rooftop - Live Performance
  3. Middle Of Your Heart - Live Performance
  4. Missing - Live Performance
  5. Pushing On A Pull Door - Live Performance
  6. Busted Heart (Hold On To Me) - Live Performance
  7. Baby Boy - Live Performance
  8. Crave - Live Performance
  9. The Proof Of Your Love (The Monologue Mix) - Live Performance
  10. The Proof Of Your Love Official Music Video
  11. An Inside Look: Making The Music Video
  12. An Inside Look: The Song + Music Video
  13. An Inside Look: A Busted Heart
  14. An Inside Look: Love's To Blame, Missing, and People Change
  15. Busted heart (Hold On To Me) - In-Studio Acoustic Performance (Recorded Live at KLOVE Studios in Rocklin, CA)
  16. The Proof Of Your Love - In-Studio Acoustic Performance (Recorded Live at KLOVE Studios in Rocklin, CA)
  17. Middle Of Your Heart - In-Studio Acoustic Performance (Recorded Live at KLOVE Studios in Rocklin, CA)

Disc Two - CD: Live audio from Hope Is What We Crave | LIVE

  1. Fine Fine Life
  2. Light It Up
  3. Middle Of Your Heart
  4. Missing
  5. Pushing On A Pull Door
  6. Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)
  7. Baby Boy
  8. Crave
  9. The Proof Of Your Love (The Monologue Mix)

 

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 Friday, September 5, 2025
ALBUMS
A Life Aligned The Light That Failed To Cease (independent)
Philip Anthony A League of My Own (ALOMO) - EP (independent)
Josh Baldwin Full Grown Man, Vol. 1 - EP [Bethel]
bodie NO SKIPS [Provident]
Colony House 77 (Pt. 1) [Roon]
Coqui LIVING 2 DIE - EP [DREAM]
The Gray Havens This Is Not the End (independent)
Forrest Frank CHILD OF GOD II (BACK TO BACK) DELUXE [River House]

SINGLES
Bill B. GOD KNOW ft. TrigNO - Single [Syntax]
Mark Bishop I'm Gonna Do What I Said I'd Do - Single [Sonlite]
Brave Days Friendly Fire - Single (independent)
CalledOut Music Adore You - Single [Integrity]
Michael Carder Where Do I Go From Here - Single (independent)
Charis Music Pressing Through (feat. Hailey Trevino) - Single [NWN]
Darius Mullin & Dre Murray Cash & Burn - Single [Syntax]
Kristene DiMarco Song for My Children - Single [Bethel]
Amanda Janson Sinner to Saint - Single [Pure Mosaic]
JSP It's Not Your Fault - Single (independent)
Tae Lamar Vengeance II (feat. MotionPlus, Propaganda, and m1L) - Single [Polished Arrow]
Patrick Mayberry Everlasting Arms - Single [Provident]
No Vain Glory FLEX - Single [Syntax]
Jemimah Paine Reason - Single [Integrated Music Rights]
R.kitect Tha Deep End - Single [Syntax]
Razzie & theprodigaljoe Man Make Plans - Single [Syntax]
Saints in Exile My Mind is a Prison - Single [Syntax]
Carly Ann Taylor Why Should I Worry (Remind Me Version) - Single [Curb]
Jaci Velasquez, Evan Egerer ¡DALE! Praise - Single [Rixon]
NEEDTOBREATHE Momma Loves Me (feat. The Red Clay Strays) - Single [Omnivore]
Madison Watkins You Won't - Single [Provident]
Wisenheart Well-Worn Door - Single (independent)
Zahriya Zachary Shine n Me (feat. Edward Rivera) - Single [Bethel]

Next Friday, September 12, 2025
ALBUMS
Jervis Campbell Good Grief! (independent)
Demon Hunter There Was A Light Here [Weapons MFG]
Roxanne Grace Try Again [DREAM]
Ellie Holcomb Far Country [Capitol CMG]
Sower Contemporary Christian Machine - EP (independent)
twenty one pilots Breach [Fueled By Ramen]
Phil Wickham Song of the Saints [Fair Trade]

SINGLES
BASECAMP Under the Blood (feat. Knaladeus) - Single [Polished Arrow Music]
Dan Bremnes Find Yourself - Single [Curb]
Matt Hammitt Days God Gave - Single (independent)
Amy Jay Margins - Single (independent)
The Undertaking! Forever Remember - Single (independent)


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