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JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Music Spotlight Review

Medical Morning

Medical Morning
Ghost Riot, Volume 1 - EP

Street Date: November 22, 2019
Style: Shoegaze / Worship / Alternative
Official Site: Official Website
Buy It: iTunes
Buy It: AmazonMP3



After years of playing in various types of bands that never left him satisfied, singer/songwriter Travis Estes seems to have finally found what he was looking for. His new project is called Medical Morning, a shoegaze-styled worship act based out of Austin, Texas. Medical Morning’s first release is an EP called Ghost Riot, Volume 1, and it does a great job setting itself apart from other worship albums.

For many Christian music fans, hearing “shoegaze” probably brings Starflyer 59 to mind first and foremost. If you dive into Ghost Riot without knowing its genre, you’ll probably still recall Starflyer. A lot of the music feels very inspired by classic albums like Silver. The production is lo-fi to match the production style of early-to-mid ‘90s shoegaze. Describing the sound like that might be more distracting than anything; although this does mean that it is occasionally difficult to make out the lyrics, the production style is purposeful and actually works really well in the album’s favor.

“Make Me” and “High As Heaven” are both really heavy on the distorted guitars, but still remain pleasantly subdued for the slower tempo. They’re tried and true alternative rock songs without sacrificing the worshipful atmosphere that Estes is aiming for. There’s also something about the former that really reminds me of Coldplay’s “Yellow” (but I can’t quite place my finger on it). The final two tracks are the EP’s strongest, with “All Hail the King” coming out as my favorite. Its particular use of melodies and ambient indie rock really remind me of My Epic, and its lyrics really resonate with me, personally, while also being extremely relevant to modern American culture. While the Church has become more and more drenched in worldly politics, this song is a reminder that God’s plans are above it all: “Heaven and Earth will pass away / but Your word will remain / everlasting and unafraid / You laugh while nations rage / no ballots or bullets will keep You away / our empires will fall to flames / all hail the King.”

If your preferred type of worship album is one with a high likelihood of Christian radio airplay, then it’s unlikely that Medical Morning will do much to please you. But for the music lovers that enjoy both worship music in addition to alternative and shoegaze, Ghost Riot, Volume 1 should probably be your next stop, because when it comes to attempts at combining the genres, it’s everything you’d want and more.

- Review date: 1/6/20, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Indie Spotlight Review . Record Label: None
. Album length: 5 tracks: 24 minutes, 40 seconds
. Street Date: November 22, 2019
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: AmazonMP3

  1. Make Me (4:30)
  2. High As Heaven (5:45)
  3. Come What May (4:26)
  4. All Hail the King (4:03)
  5. Unsetting Sun (5:56)

 

 

 

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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]
REFVGE REFVGE 1 [Syntax]
Relentless Pursuit Apocalypsis (independent)
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM]
Joel Vaughn Feel It - EP [DREAM]

SINGLES
ANTHNY no stages - Single [Provident]
Johan Åsgärde Coming Home - Single [Gotee]
Dave Barnes Everything But Mine - Single (independent)
Chris Caro Pain Pt. 3 - Single [Syntax]
Jeff Deyo There is a Fire - Single [NWN]
Drenae Dead Seed - Single [Syntax]
F'rael Pardon My Grace - Single [Syntax]
Jeremy and Adrienne Camp Worthy Of It All / I Exalt Thee (Jeremy and Adrienne Camp Version) - Single [Sparrow]
Linc Worship I Know - Single (independent)
Steven Malcolm All God - Single [Curb]
Jeannie Ortega Little Girl is Gone - Single [Syntax]
outr.cty Testin' Your Luck (ft. Selah the Corner & Dre Murray) - Single [Syntax]
Matt Redman Let Me See Jesus / Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (feat. Charity Gayle) - Single [Integrity]
Rhymes in Harmony Beautiful Name - Single [Syntax]
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]



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