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JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Music Spotlight Review

Michael Hughes Watson
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Michael Hughes Watson
Feeling

Street Date: April 9, 2021
Style: Acoustic Pop / Worship



Indie pop singer-songwriter Michael Hughes Watson returns with a new worship album, Feeling. A simple 10 tracks and roughly 33 minutes in run time, this studio-produced record stands out from most others of its type. Where some worship acts try to look and sound cool, Watson pulls it off, from the artsy cover to the solid acoustic pop sound and beats. This album may not completely revolutionize the genre, but it is a worthy offering to put on your radar.

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.com



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. Record Label: None
. Album length: 10 tracks: 33 minutes
. Street Date: April 9, 2021
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: AmazonMP3

  1. Generation (3:21)
  2. Feeling (3:18)
  3. Falls into Place (3:08)
  4. Closer Than a Brother (3:18)
  5. Woods (4:04)
  6. Only Your Love (2:50)
  7. Remind Me (2:36)
  8. If Nothing Else (3:17)
  9. Purify My Heart 2 (3:54)
  10. Lift You Up (3:00)

 

 

 

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This Friday, June 27, 2025
ALBUMS
7eventh Time Down We Praise You [BEC]
The Browns 25th Anniversary: Better Days Ahead [StowTown]
Franni Cash Wild Child - EP [Capitol CMG]
Matt Crocker interlude [Anotherland]
Jimmy Fortune Songs of an American Dreamer [Gaither]
Roxanne Grace Road Trip - EP [DREAM]
JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise The Live Reunion: Washington, DC [James Town]
Kutless The Seventh Seal - EP [BEC]
Evvie McKinney It Ain't Over - EP (independent)
Rusty Shipp Capsized Empire (independent)
SEU Worship A Forgiving God [Provident]
The Shimmering Carnelians The Doorway (Version 2.0) (independent)
We Are Messengers A Thousand Times - EP [Curb]

SINGLES
Anchor & Braille Rattlesnake - Single [Equal Vision]
ANTHNY imposter syndrome - Single [Provident]
Blanca Right On Time - Single [Curb]
Landry Cantrell & Elenee sunshine & rainbows - Single [DREAM]
Eddie Clark Never Content - Single [Syntax]
Colony House Atomic - Single [Roon]
Megan Danielle Preachin' To The Choir - Single [Provident]
Drea LP & OnBeatMusic Don't Try Me (DTM) - Single [Syntax]
ELI GABLE Glory Bound - Single [Capitol CMG]
Joseph Habedank Running to Me - Single [Daywind]
Lonnie Hunter Flow (Like A River) - Single [Uncle G]
Kashh Kade HELP - Single [Syntax]
KB x KEANU Keanu's Song - Single [Provident]
Tasha Layton Singing In the Dark - Single [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard The Hand That Keeps Holding - Single [Motown Gospel]
Claire Leslie Thank God I'm Not Alone (from Claire's Phone) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Tim Lovelace Celebration of America Medley (feat. Charlie McCoy) - Single [StowTown]
Lecrae Tell No Lie (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) - Single [Reach]
LO Worship The Perfect Love of Jesus - Single [Integrity]
Patrick Mayberry Thank The Lord - Single [Provident]
Michael Monroe John The Baptist (feat. Chris Renzema) - Single [Provident]
Alexander Pappas A Great Awakening / Un Nuevo Despertar - Single [Integrity]
PEABOD Summer in Seattle - Single [RMG Amplify]
Rave Jesus Walk On The Water Remix (From The Chosen) - Single [Provident]
The Rocky Valentines Nat Song - Single [Velvet Blue]
Tommy Royale, gio. Like Dat - Single [Capitol CMG]
Saints In Exile & Cutright My Dead End (ft. Jeannie Ortega, Luc DiMarzio, Jericko) - Single [Syntax]
Emilie Weiss Take Care (Studio Sessions) - Single [BEC]

DVD
Jimmy Fortune Songs Of An American Dreamer DVD [Gaither]

Next Friday, July 4, 2025
ALBUMS
Chad Cory America [DREAM]
Tenielle Neda The Way Of Love [Wings]

SINGLES
Christian Back Now - Single [DREAM]



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