Like Neil Young and Rich Mullins before him, Derek Webb has matured into a fearless artist who delights in betraying expectations, and making art that explores detours, departures and roads less traveled. Take his latest album, Ctrl, which features Webb picking up his acoustic guitar after a long layoff from the instrument. For Webb fans who know and love his past work with Caedmon’s Call, his return to unplugged sounds should come as welcome news: They adore this latest record from start to finish.

That said, you’d better brace yourself. On Ctrl, Webb places his acoustic axe in the service of his most ambitious project to date. It tells the tale of an unnamed character that melts the lines of physical and virtual realities until it’s hard to tell man from machine, the digits from the DNA. Yet the emerging story is so much Webb’s, fans can be forgiven for mistaking this work for a 21st century confessional.

Ctrl at turns sounds terrifying and tight, soulful and transcendent. The magic comes as a direct result of Webb pitting primitive, organic sounds against programmed, looped textures as his character sinks further into his dystopian fever dream. “The juxtaposition of primitive and future was part of the basic framework from the beginning,” Webb says.

To that end, Webb makes abundant use of Sacred Harp singing (also known as shape note singing), a form of acapella choral music that took root in the American south. But he morphs those four-part harmony singers into digitized samples that take on the tremulous quality of ghosts without a home.

Webb’s singing also adds to the emotional wallop, as he tried something else brand new: He sang all the songs on the album, in their exact album sequence, in one 36-hour stretch. The exhaustion you hear by the closing track is real, and it reflects the fray he felt as his vocal cords began to splinter.

“The 36 hours included six hours of sleep, so you get a sense of the journey I’m going on and the exhaustion I’m feeling. That was just another way of burying meaning; the character at the end is exhausted and has been on a journey. I felt more connected to the content of the songs through that experience.”

Webb enjoys the fact that Ctrl, with its futuristic sound and shape, also marks a homecoming for longtime listeners who’ve stayed away for a while.

“I’m already hearing from folks online who felt alienated by the last few records, and they seem to really love this one,” Webb says. “So this is an opportunity for people who jumped ship somewhere along the way to find a way back on board.

Click on the grey button at the bottom of the page to get a FREE DOWNLOAD of Derek’s song “Reanimate” from the new record, and pick up the album at your favorite store today!

New Album In Stores Now

Click here to preview the record & get your copy!
www.DerekWebb.com

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

The members of The Wrecking, a Portland Maine based pop/rock band, are quietly re-defining what a purposeful, hard-working team can accomplish on their own. Three years into their impressive run they have racked up over 500 live appearances, several charting singles, a rabid and growing on-line presence and critical acclaim from both mainstream and Christian music critics. On their second full-length release, So Much for Love, the band has found their sweet spot; crafting songs that celebrate the purpose of struggle, the beauty of brokenness and the importance of justice. “Struggle has a purpose,” insists drummer Darren Elder. “We often have to be broken before we can be built.” The Wrecking contemplate the power of this simple truth through pop/rock songs honed to perfection by relentless touring, writing and studio work.

Whether intentional or not, this young band has already demolished several contemporary rock clichés. In an era of declining music sales and indie rock cacophony they have emerged as polished, purposeful, touring band that waits for no one. Their 2008 debut, A New Abolition and follow-up EP The Catalyst (2010) managed critical and commercial feats that would be the envy of any major label artist development team. Five charting singles, over fifty features and reviews in national press outlets, numerous four star reviews and hundreds of performances later The Wrecking are building an engaged following from coast to coast.

The set-up for So Much For Love, has been equally as impressive. The album’s lead single, “View from the Top,” is impacting at radio and through a contagious video that is racking up hundreds of views per week. “It’s a simple idea,” lead vocalist and guitarist Douglas Elder explains, “but people still need to hear it. It’s about getting above all of the things that hold us back or bring us down. It’s about the empowerment that comes from having a proper perspective on the struggles and brokenness of life.” That optimistic spirit led to a top-level synch placement and on-screen performance for the song in the acclaimed Showtime series The Big C. As a result the band’s online profile has exploded. Several additional Film and TV placements have already come in for that song and a second single and video (“About To Fall”) is generating significant buzz as well. All indications are that The Wrecking have a certified hit on their hands.

The Elder brothers, though excited about all of the recent hype, are focused on the task at hand. “We feel that our first record presented the sound of a band exploring who they may be,” Darren ponders. “That process is necessary and fun, but after three years of full time touring, writing and recording we know exactly who we are now, and where we want to go.” If recent activity is any indication, the answer to that last question may in fact be “everywhere.” The band has shown no regard for the supposed wall between faith-formed music and mainstream pop, generating fans on all sides of the spiritual fence. “We are absolutely unashamed of our Christian faith and we love playing at churches, leading worship and inspiring people to dig deeper into their spirituality,” Douglas adds, “but we are just as comfortable playing in a club or on a TV show. Maybe it’s because we have done this on our own, but it is really exciting to see that we now organically exist in both the mainstream and Christian markets.”

With musical references as diverse as Radiohead, Jimmy Eat World, The Daylights and Onerepublic, the band has crafted a brand of instantly accessible, irresistibly melodic and relentlessly truthful modern pop that dares to matter. The band played over 150 shows in the last year and spent hundreds of hours writing, re-writing, tweaking and perfecting a massive amount of music that was eventually distilled down to the eleven that comprise So Much for Love. “We probably sketched over seventy songs before landing on the ones that became this album,” Darren Elder explains. “When we were not on the road we were in my studio dreaming this all up.” With the production assistance of Dustin Burnett (Newsboys, Augustana, Throwing Gravity, Jimmy Needham) and mastering by Adam Ayan (Nirvana, Madonna, Foo Fighters, Carrie Underwood, The Rolling Stones) their enormous effort has truly paid off. The band can’t wait to unveil So Much For Love, which hits stores today!

Click on the gray download button at the bottom of the page to get your FREE DOWNLOAD of The Wrecking’s single “View From The Top” and check out the rest of the album today!

New Album Available Everywhere Now

Click Here To Preview The Record & Get Your Copy!

www.thewrecking.net
www.facebook.com/TheWrecking
www.twitter.com/TheWrecking

P.S. The Wrecking have some fantastic cover song videos that you don’t want to miss. Head over to their Youtube page HERE to check them out.

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

We’re excited to get to share with you the title track, and one of our favorite songs off of Jeremy Horn’s latest worship album “Sound Of The Broken” today for FREE. Jeremy sat down to talk about the inspiration behind the song, and the story that went into writing it. See what he had to say below, and scroll down to get the song for FREE!

“Sound Of The Broken is a song that came out of a time that I was reading in scripture, and I ran across Acts chapter 3.”

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

-Acts 3: 1-10

“A lot of ways in our own life we think that we’re always going to be broken. But God hears our cry of brokenness and really desires to heal us, redeem us and to pull us out of where we’re from. And that process is happening every day in our life. It’s the title track of the whole album and really gives us the beginning picture of what it is to know that God hears us and still loves us in our state of brokenness.”

Album Available Everywhere

Click Here To Preview The Record & Get Your Copy Now!

Twitter.com/JeremyHorn
Facebook.com/JeremyHornBand
www.JeremyHornMusic.com

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

For 25,000 young adults across the globe, downtown Kansas City has become an annual destination for encountering Jesus. Each December, IHOP-KC hosts onething, an intimate and energetic time of worship, prayer, teaching, and ministry. Featuring eleven worship leaders, onething LIVE: Magnificent Obsession captures this atmosphere of devotion to Jesus and highlights some of the most memorable moments of worship from onething 2011. Matt Gilman, one of eleven worship leaders featured on the record, shares: “I love the focused nature of this album and that it represents so well why we do what we do here at the house of prayer—because Jesus is worthy of unceasing adoration.” Although the twelve-song project reflects the musical leanings of multiple worship leaders, its theme is decidedly singular: Jesus is a worthy obsession.

David Brymer’s opening track “Worthy of It All,” one of the conference’s most requested songs, is a moving anthem depicting the heavenly scene described in Revelation 4. Similarly, “All Is for Your Glory,” led by Cory Asbury, is a beautifully sincere declaration of the Lord’s preeminence in all things, coupled with a joyful heart-cry to embrace humility. In “Wounded One,” Davy Flowers encourages worshipers to reflect on Jesus’ suffering, with echoing choruses that make great use of the vast conference venue halls. Other tracks include “Measure of a Man,” which you can download for FREE below, performed by Misty Edwards, and “New Jerusalem,” which showcases Matt Gilman’s passionate lyric and vocal. The latter song was inspired by a dream Matt had during a season of meditation on Revelation 21.

onething LIVE: Magnificent Obsession is an outpouring of the hearts of worshipers who have set their gaze unapologetically on Jesus, providing an album that extends an invitation to embrace Him as our magnificent obsession. Check out the live performance of David Brymer’s song “Worthy Of It All” to get a taste! Watch more videos and learn more about the album HERE.

In Stores Everywhere Now

Click here to preview the album & get your copy!

[Free Download]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

In my years as a recording artist I have had the pleasure
of working with many, many wonderful people. There are few,
however, that can match the incredible heart for ministry and
the great talent of Sarah Macintosh.
–Michael W. Smith

Sarah’s voice lures you into thinking bits of heaven
might be here already.
–David Crowder

We have the pleasure this week of getting to share with you the beautiful sounds of Sarah Macintosh. If you have yet to hear any of her music, then you are in for a treat. Here are some epic live performances of her songs “Current” and “Galaxy Former” to give you a taste

Watch more live performances from Sarah HERE

Sarah also took some time to sit down and share about the heart behind her album & the process that went into making it. Check out her behind the scenes video below to get to know Sarah & learn all about her newest record “Current.”

My CD “Current” is just that. It’s a current of thoughts, drum beats, guitar strums, melodies, vocals all swirling together in an attempt to capture the towering highs and plummeting lows of life. These songs were found strapped on the inside of my heart, running across the backs of my eyelids, standing on the tip of my tongue. Just waiting to share about my great God, how he’s revealing himself to me, what he’s done for me, and what he promises to continue to do.
-Sarah Macintosh

Click on the download button below to get the track “Galaxy Former” for FREE and don’t miss out on the other great songs from Sarah on her latest album “Current.”

Album In Stores Everywhere

Click here to preview the record & get your copy now!

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

Hey everyone, Laura here! In honor of their new album release, “The Loudest Sound Ever Heard” our friends from The Choir are giving away a free song this week PLUS a prize pack that includes a great t-shirt (as you can see here) & an autographed copy of the album.

Before I go any further though, I wanted to take a second to share this awesome song with you from the record that you must hear first. Why? Because it’s my favorite track, and I was able to convince the band to let us stream it for free this week just so you all can enjoy it! It’s the album’s closing song, “After All”, which features a stunning duet with Sixpence None The Richer’s Leigh Nash, in what will no doubt become a signature song for the band. Click below to hear it for yourself and let me know what you think!

The Choir – After All (Featuring Leigh Nash)

Want to enter for the t-shirt & autographed CD Giveaway? Leave a comment below with your best guesses to the following trivia questions & you’ll automatically be entered to win! You may or may not be able to find the answers on last week’s post here  Also be sure to click on the free download button at the bottom of the page to get the Choir’s song “The Forest” for FREE!

Enjoy!
Laura

1. How long has The Choir been making music together?
a) 10 years
b) 20 years
c) 30 years
d) 30 days

2. “The Loudest Sound Ever Heard” is The Choir’s…
a) 10th studio album
b) 12th studio album
c) 14th studio album
d) 50th studio album

3. Laura’s favorite song on the new album is
a) “After All” featuring Leigh Nash
b) “The Forest”
c) “Learning To Fly”

Even if you don’t win the contest, you can still get the album today!

Click here to preview & download your copy now

Learn even more about The Choir at www.thechoir.net and facebook.com/thechoir!

Winner has been chosen!

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

Florida-based worship team Eleven22 releases its sophomore record, first national release, The Reason today. The project, produced by Jeremy Edwardson of The Myriad, is a tribute to fifteen-year-old McKenzie Noelle Wilson’s life, with all proceeds going to benefit construction of an orphanage, sponsored by The McKenzie Noelle Foundation, in Uganda, Africa.

Birthed out of Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., Eleven22 is a worship band that draws young people in droves, encouraging them to reach for a more meaningful worship experience. One of those young people, McKenzie Noelle Wilson, attended an Eleven22 worship service where she dedicated her life to Christ before suddenly passing away one month later.

Wilson’s untimely death rocked the entire community, but it was discovering her life and the passion with which she lived it that inspired Eleven22 to write its new album, The Reason.  Eleven22’s Ben Williams recalls, “Stories about McKenzie’s love and compassion for others just started spreading like wildfire. The more we heard, the more we wanted to know. It wasn’t long after that, her dad gave me her Bible, and I began to read her notes inside. ”

Those notes served as the foundation for songs like album opener “I Found a Love,” a triumphant celebration of all who have made their way through life’s storms to discover God’s true love—a song made particularly poignant after it was found written in Wilson’s Bible. Similarly, the heart-pounding surrender of debut radio single “I Belong to You” began from a single line written by Wilson in her Bible that resounded with Eleven22.

Watch their behind the album video below to learn more + their live performance of the single “I Belong To You,” and click the download button at the bottom of the page to get it for FREE!

“There is something so pure about her writing,” Williams says, “It really affected me. I mean, I have been in church my whole life, but I found that it made me want to be a better pastor and worship leader, a better husband, a better father—to inspire others like she inspired me.”

Eleven22 will be donating the proceeds from its new project to The McKenzie Noelle Wilson Foundation, established by Wilson’s parents to honor her compassion for orphans around the world. The foundation’s current project is a boy’s orphanage and an abandoned baby home in Uganda. To find out how you can contribute, visit: www.caregivegrow.org.

Click Here To Get The Album Now!

All Proceeds to Benefit Ugandan Orphanage
eleven22worship.com

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

The day that we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Today Phil Wickham has launched the second installment of his “Singalong” series where you can download an entire live album for FREE from his March 30th worship night in Costa Mesa, California.

Visit PhilWickham.com To Download The Free Album Now!

And check out the trailer below to get a taste of the treat that you’re in for!

Shane & Shane are back in our “Fun Facts” series with some more great info to share, and it’s already making me feel smarter today They’re so generous, that they’re also giving us a free song this week from their latest album “The One You Need!” You can scroll down to get the track “Miracle” for free, and check out the story behind the song video to hear what Shane & Shane have to say about it. If you missed our first post of “fun facts” from the guys, you can click here to go get up to speed.

Learn how to play “Miracle” and all of Shane & Shane’s songs in our “Lessons With B” series HERE

And Now For Today’s Fun Facts With Shane & Shane:
(As told through twitter & Facebook)

1) Fact: Your body is about a half-inch taller in the morning than in the evening.

2) Fact: The planet Mars has the tallest volcano in the Solar System. Olympus Mons is 15 miles high—3x the height of Everest.

3) Fact: You can type the word TYPEWRITER using only the top letter row of a keyboard. Good job, typewriter inventor!

4) Fact: We’d thought you’d like to know… Amazon has “The OneYou Need” for $7.99 until the end of April!

$7.99 Album Sale at Amazon MP3

Preview the record & get it now!

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)

This week we have even more free music from Sara Groves! If you liked her free acoustic EP last week, then be sure to get this week’s song “Open My Hands.”  It’s actually the next single from her album “Invisible Empires” and my personal favorite track on the record Check out her video interview below to see the story and meaning behind the song, and scroll down to get it for free!

I had a few co-writes on this last record with Jill Phillips, Andy Gullihorn, and on a song called “Open My Hands” with Ally Rogers who is a great songwriter in Nashville. We were talking about the verse that says “He withholds no good thing from us,” and the puzzlement of that, when you know people in your life that are having difficult times. And she shared with me this devotion by Charles Spurgeon:

“In Psalm 84:11 we read, ‘No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”’Sir Richard Baker comments, ‘But how is this true when God oftentimes withholds riches, honor, and health of body from men? Though they walk ever so uprightly.’ We may therefore know that honors and riches and bodily strength are none of God’s good things. And the good things of God are chiefly peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, for wishing of God’s presence, and envisioning his face. These good things God never withholds from the godly.”

I have found this to be true in my own life that even though I might be struggling in other ways, God doesn’t withhold His good things from me. -Sara Groves

“Invisible Empires” – On SALE At AmazonMP3 Now For $7.99

Click here to preview the album & get your copy now!

[Download Expired]

Register to Download (U.S. Only)