We Are Bread and Wine is a collection of Portland artists founded by Katie and Brett Leyde. Their new album, Broken and Poured Out, is a set of 10 worship tunes seeking to bring the believer into closer contact with Jesus. One might think from the album title that the songs are born from hard times. However, the true substance of these tracks falls more in line with your average worship album of the day. While songs like "Refuge" or "God is with Us" can offer encouragement through praise, the rest circle around the theme of getting to know Christ better ("Heartbeat," "Heart of the Father," etc). What's refreshing about We Are Bread and Wine's offering is that it feels like a genuine expression and not just another church band overstretching their bounds. There are moments of good lyricism on songs like "Awakening Water" or the aforementioned "Refuge." What holds this album back, though, is the music. Almost every track is a slow build, mid-tempo affair that tends to test the listener's patience with its length. The worst offender is "Our Honor," which goes on for over 11 minutes, largely bloated by some spontaneous worship. The singer on this track, as if sensing the need to keep things interesting, tries too hard to do vocal gymnastics over the back half. Still, while Broken and Poured Out may not be the most gripping worship album of the year, it shows that We Are Bread and Wine is a competent praise collective worth keeping an eye on for future releases.

- Review date: 7/1/25, written by John Underdown of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: None
Album length: 11 tracks: 69 minutes
Street Date: February 16, 2025
Buy It: Amazon Music

1. Awakening Water (feat. Sophia Fisher) (6:01)
2. Spring Rains (feat. Kendall Hart Spinella & Nate Smith) (7:13)
3. Heartbeat (feat. Brett Leyde & Katie Leyde) (6:08)
4. Refuge (feat. Nate & Kelcie Smith) (7:04)
5. Heart of the Father (feat. Nate & Kelcie Smith) (6:29)
6. Heaven Has a Name (feat. Katie Leyde & Hiyab Gabriel) (6:39)
7. Our Honor (feat. Hiyab Gabriel) (8:40)
8. To Worship You I Live (Spontaneous) (feat. Hiyab Gabriel) (3:20)
9. Shoes (feat. Sarah Fisher) (5:17)
10. Bread & Wine (feat. Katie Leyde & Kendall Hart Spinella) (6:53)
11. God Is With Us (feat. Julia Shaw) (5:38)