‘The Glory Of It All” kicks off the latest David Crowder Band outing, Remedy, with Crowder quietly building to a praiseworthy reminder of what God has done in the past and what God will do in the future. As always, Crowder’s voice defines much of what happens, but the instruments of the band shouldn’t be ignored. For the uneducated, Crowder plays the acoustic guitar, B-Wack provides the drums and programming, Hogan hits the vinyl and violins, Jack Parker mans the electric guitars, Rhodes and some vocals, Mike D has the bass guitars, piano and other duties, while Mark Waldrop rounds it out with some vocals and electric guitars. As you might imagine, hearing them is quite an experience… and that doesn’t even include Crowder’s hair.
“Can You Feel It?” repetitively pushes hope to the forefront of the conversation, pushing a techno beat that works because the band makes it work: really, the band made techno worship cool. “Everything Glorious” is the only song that Crowder wrote before this year (and I heard last December at a live concert), but it’s the recognition that God’s presence does literally make everything better.
“…neverending…” has a cool name, but it also begins with an amped-up beat that brings sounds reminiscent of early video games into the background. Once again, God’s presence makes the difference, allows for meaning and life, and basically, blows up the speed and pattern of what the songs have looked like so far. If anything could be more different, it’s “Never Let Go,” which instantly quiets everything down and settles the album’s soul.
“O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing” takes the Charles Wesley hymn and Crowderizes it. I’ll sidebar momentarily and say that guitars playing hymns make my soul smile, and Crowder playing a guitar and singing hymns makes me laugh out loud. And then the band is back to messing with your mind (a good thing) because it blows up and goes all techno on us again with “Rain Down,” a starker song, but no less powerful.
The next song out, “We Won’t Be Quiet,” is similarly simple, but it’s driving at a rate that mixes the techno, rock and praise into one sterling, crafted piece. Crowder’s voice is distorted, and you just know that they were having fun when they rolled this one on tape.
The title track actually proves to be the longest one on the record, with it’s slowed-down effects, as Crowder explores his own feelings toward God, asking questions, and seeking the love that he knows is true. It gradually builds, exploring the Gospel and the nature of God, to the chorus: “He is the one who has saved us; he is the one who embraced us; he is the one who has come and is coming again; he is the remedy.” Interesting to note, the “eye chart” says “Let us be the remedy…” It’s clear that Jesus is The Remedy but we can help the remedy to be distributed to all. Does that make us doctors?
All joking aside, the latest album might be my favorite (certainly since Illuminate) and closing with the quiet “Surely We Can Change” doesn’t make me think any less of it. Admitting that he doesn’t know what to do with a love like Jesus, he’s exploring common questions and seeking to come to an understanding of what he should do with his own life. Spoken more than sung, the chorus is the best: “Where there is pain let there be grace, where there is suffering bring serenity. For those afraid help them be brave; where there is misery bring expectancy; and surely we can change.” It’s a prayer for all of us, spoken aloud by one of the best worship leaders out there, serving up doses of joy and wisdom; in fact, doses of The Remedy.
