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JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Music Spotlight Review



Sandra McCracken
Red Balloon

Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 10 tracks
Street Date: September 30, 2008



There's not a great amount of good Christian folk music around, so whenever an artist appears who can craft quality folk songs, it's a special thing. Sandra McCracken is in no way new to this game, as she has already recorded five albums, and collaborated on a joint EP with singer/songwriter husband Derek Webb. Not only that, but she has occasionally lent her songwriting skills to Caedmon's Call. However, forgetting all that for the moment, how does Sandra McCracken's latest release Red Balloon stand?

Something immediately obvious when listening is the raw, almost under-produced sound of the entire album. Being used to hearing CCM singers being horribly over-produced by their record labels, it almost comes as a relief for me to find one whose music isn't polished to an attractively glossy sheen. The reason behind this is that the entire album was recorded in Sandra's home - starting with the basics, then keyboard, background vocals, bass, drums and other various sounds were added over the months until each song developed into its current "shape and form." And rarely do those songs disappoint. Highlights include opener "Guardian," folk-rocker "On the Outside," the catchiness of "Lose You" and its toe-tapping, banjo-twanging chorus, and "Big Blue Sky" with its clever musical arrangement. Red Balloon is not perfect, but it's hard to point to any specific "offender" that ought to be cut from the track listing, as all of the songs are good in their own right.

To answer my initial question, Red Balloon not only stands, it flies. Lyrically, it doesn't shy away from Christian themes; in fact, some of the songs could almost be considered gospel. Crafted with an almost indie-folk vibe to it, Sandra McCracken's latest release is a keeper. Here's looking forward to hearing more like this in the future!

- Review date: 2/24/09, written by Adam Dawson of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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. Record Label: None
. Album length: 10 tracks
. Street Date: September 30, 2008
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Guardian (3:49)
  2. Storehouse (3:54)
  3. Lock And Key (3:43)
  4. The Tie That Binds (3:19)
  5. Saturn's Fields (4:01)
  6. On The Outside (3:44)
  7. Halfway (3:55)
  8. Lose You (4:02)
  9. Big Blue Sky (3:12)
  10. The High Countries (4:48)

 

 

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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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