When you take the fact that anyone anywhere can have their music on the internet at the drop of a hat, and you combine it with an influx of worship artists across the world releasing albums on a yearly basis, you're not going to be able to easily keep up. But if modern corporate worship acts are of interest to you, you may not want to overlook
Canyon Worship. The official campus worship team of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, Canyon Worship features original songs written by GCU students, and
Canyon Worship 2019 is their latest endeavor. Musically, the worship team draws from their colleagues in the worship music world, with a lot of pop, pop rock, and contemporary. The stylistic choices alone don't do anything to help the team stand out from the pack, but they do have some help from Matthew Odmark of Jars of Clay and Geoff Hunker of Satellites & Sirens, who each produced half of the album, which helps the team to sound as good as any other out there. Most of the songs are solid and great choices for Sunday morning services or worship music playlists, but there's a nice three-song run just about in the middle of the tracklist that is my pick for the three best songs of the whole album: "How You Love Me," "Coming After Me," and "Whom Have I." The songs center around the amazing love of God for His saints, His willingness to go great lengths to bring us into His kingdom, and His all-sufficiency for our souls. "Whom Have I" may be my favorite of the album; it serves as a reminder that nothing the world can offer can compare to the majesty of Jesus: "
I'm so stuck in who I am that I'm losing sight of You / I know the world is in Your hands, but I try to hold it in mine too / But I'm done hurting, done searching for what this world can offer me / My whole world will fade away when I see You face to face / You call me child / And all the pain inside my heart melts away inside Your arms / my fear's forgotten, because whom have I in Heaven." It's a beautiful song designed for intimate moments with the Lord. Canyon Worship has released full-length albums every year since 2016 now, and the 2019 edition is enough to make me interested in the three previous releases. If you're already familiar with the group, you've probably already listened to
Canyon Worship 2019, but if you haven't and you're interested in groups like Elevation Worship and Hillsong United, this might be something you'll enjoy.
- Review date: 11/14/19, written by
Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com
(JFH Sponsor Spot)