Anyone remember Reality Check? I've mentioned them a few times in other reviews. They were an incredibly radio friendly Christian rap/rock band who put out a fun album (somewhere in between dc Talk's Free at Last and Jesus Freak) and then called it quits. Bummer.
Fast forward a couple years, and from the ashes of Reality Check arises Luna Halo. Two of the guys from RC (lead vocalist Nathan Barlowe and guitarist Johnny Macintosh) started up another band, and managed to get re-signed by their old label, Sparrow records, mostly known as a home for adult contemporary/light pop acts like Steven Curtis Chapman, Twila Paris, and (shudder) Carman, but more recently reputed for signing some pretty good rock bands such as The Waiting, Delirious?, Chasing Furies, and Earthsuit. Luna Halo, in my mind, is no exception - this is a CD jam-packed with some solid, dark but beautiful modern rock. But no rap. That element of Reality Check is gone forever. That ingredient of the band's style has been replaced with some moodier elements - strings, weird programmed noises, a little vocal distortion here and there, and so forth. Nothing terribly fancy - this is a formula that has been attempted before - but these guys are so good at it! dc Talk's Supernatural album would be a fair comparison in terms of the sonic depth of this album, but without as much experimentation with different styles. I believe the members of the band are big Radiohead fans, and a little of that influence shows through (as it did on Delirious?'s Mezzamorphis album), but thankfully, these songs remain pretty structured (which probably means most Radiohead fans would hate it). At the core, these are melodic rock songs that fell into the hands of some great players and songwriters.
Aliens opens the album on an ominous note, with a weird radio-sounding transmission and some fuzzy, distorted voices in the background for almost a full half-minute before a mid-tempo but driving guitar line kicks in. Though not the most solid song on the album, it gives you a great introduction to the band's style - fuzzy, trippy, in-your-face guitars, a solid (if fairly predictable) rhythmic backbone, and Nathan's delectable vocals with some weird sounds thrown into the mix here and there. The lyrics to this song are sparse and yet descriptive: "Contact in my head/With these aliens/Pursuing my control/How did I let in/These poison thoughts again/Can I finally let them go/Come step inside my mind." You might not go, "Hey! I get exactly what they're saying!", but you get a vague picture that the lyric is dealing with sin, seeing it as an unwanted foreign intruder. Not exactly a happy beginning, but it's honest. The song doesn't feel the need to wrap itself up neatly at the end of five minutes - after the first two verses and choruses, the only lyrics are some haunting "la la la"s, and finally, the song floats off on the same wave of noise it came in on.
Superman, the band's first big hit, speeds things up a bit. It starts off with some almost whimsical strings that ride along nicely on top of the driving rhythm. This one was definitely made for radio, but thankfully it's not the usual Superman metaphor you'd expect to hear in a Christian song. Rather, it takes on a more cautious tone, much like the "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down (which, incidentally, was not out on the radio when the band wrote this song). It seems to be pleading with the listener not to put other people on a pedestal - they will only let you down. The difference is that this one does offer a faint hope - "I can't be everything, but I know the one who can."
Carry Me starts off as a Beatles-style praise ballad, and builds beautifully over its five-and-a-half minute length. It didn't stand out to me as much at first, probably because of its mild tempo - I had to listen to it a few times to fully appreciate how well the guitars would turn up a few notches and take over the song toward the end. perhaps I was just perplexed that they picked this to be the band's first single. I don't think it ever really got off the ground. But it is a great song - I just think it belongs farther back in the album.
Forgiveness leads in with a gentle guitar intro, backed by a drum and bass pattern that reminds me of U2's "With or Without You" for some strange reason. It doesn't start off as quiet or "give itself away" as loudly as the aforementioned song, though it is a mostly gentle, soothing track with a soaring chorus. It will wash over you with its pretty strings and lovely vocals - definitely one of the brighter tracks on the album (even if I usually prefer the darker ones). The lyric "Fell like rain" sticks in my head long after the song fades out.
Wait for You opens with some similar static sounds to "Aliens" (I believe it's an actual recording of a radio transmission this time), and its tempo is very much like "Aliens" as well. This perplexed me at first, since I was hoping they'd speed it up a bit at this point, but once I got into this song, I really related to the longing it portrayed for that feeling of being close to God again. "Until the sun stands still again/Until the Earth reverses/Until my eyes can see the wind/I'll wait for You." I love the guitar solo near the end - it's definitely powerful, but in an awe-inspired way and not an obnoxious, heavy metal sort of way.
Heaven is up next - at last, we're upbeat and happy again! At first, this song seemed almost too happy - maybe I'm just hard to please. However, its catchy melody, interesting stop/start pattern during the verses, and a powerful bridge make it a winner. It's more of a direct praise song to a God who brings perfect light to a dark world, not some naive declaration that everything's happy and the world is perfect. It makes sure to acknowledge human imperfection even in its joy: "How could I forget the things that You have done/How could I ignore the place You brought me from/When I make it through the darkness/It's so easily forgotten/Heaven shines so bright on You."
Hang on to You was written by Martin Smith of Delirious?, and by way of the record label, Luna Halo got a first crack at recording it. Hearing the two bands' different interpretations is interesting - Delirious? did it as a gleeful, schizophrenic rocker, while Luna Halo plays it straight, doing it as a simple pop/rock ballad. This is surprisingly the version I like best of the two - it seems to fit better into a worship setting. It might just get Luna Halo some exposure to the mostly older crowd who likes the softer stuff, too. But they still know how to make those choruses soar!
So Far is likely to become another of the band's classics - it's got some rip-roaring good-time guitar playing, a defiant tone, and a general rowdy classic rock feel to it, except that it's fed through a good deal of reverb. The guitar intro reminds my girlfriend of the Macarena for some reason - thankfully, that's the only resemblance. The song appears to be about people who think they can work their way into Heaven or toss up a generic prayer at the last minute and yet live with rebellious hearts. The band pretty much cuts through the false theology, saying "You might say you've found a way to Heaven/But I don't believe in anything I've seen in you so far." Only two complaints about an otherwise solid song: 1) The second verse is basically the first verse with a few words changed, and there's no bridge, and 2) Since "Heaven" is more prominent in the lyric than the title of the song, it's easy to confuse this song with "Heaven". Maybe that's nitpicky, but with somewhat vague lyrics, I don't want the band to fall into what I call the "Collective Soul trap" - having killer music and interesting lyrics, but not fleshing things out enough to demand the listener's attention.
Running Away is a simple, fast-paced rocker (notice that things have picked up a bit in the second half of the album?) My opinion of this song changes from day to day - sometimes is just seems to chug along and do its duty without really standing out, and sometimes I love it and really relate to it due to its promise to "run away" from the sins that have kept us from God. The flailing, dissonant guitar runs in the bridge are a bit of a weird surprise in an otherwise predictable song.
Beautiful is another song that I didn't stand out to me as much at first, but grew to be one of my top picks on this album. Some of the drums and vocals in this song seem slightly digitized, as if they're being played in a tunnel or something. It's got a good mix of live and programmed drums - something I always appreciate, because it lays down quite a thick groove for a more moody praise song. The lyrics are fairly simple (once again, the same verse repeated twice), but that doesn't mean they're not interesting. The band is not just stating that God is beautiful to them, but wondering what it is that makes God the way He is - wanting to get under the hood and see what makes the engine run, if you will. Definitely a sentiment I relate to, and I don't usually see this level of childlike curiosity in praise songs.
Complacent is definitely the most daring song on the album, breaking out of the usual 4/4 pattern for some interesting jumps back and forth between 11/8 and 12/8. Lyrically, it seems to be cautioning a believer who is backing away from God, slowly becoming disillusioned and no longer willing to pursue God. The song does a great job of evoking a sense of sadness and danger, and yet you don't get the impression they're trying to be forceful or pushy about it - they know their best approach is simply to pray and let God call the person back to where they belong. Definitely a standout track - I hope they take more risks like this on future albums.
The Way to Your Heart appears to be the heartfelt acoustic ballad that would be appropriate at the end of such a richly textured rock album - it takes a similar lyrical approach to "Complacent", except that it seems to be pleading with a non-believer to give Christianity a chance. It is a heartfelt song, likely inspired by true events, and the protagonist realizes that he has been through a similar process, wishing the friend could have been there with him to see his own transformation. Sometimes the line "'Til you get up and walk out on faith/You will lie in the bed that you've made" seems slightly harsh, but then again, it's so true. Logic and faith are not mutually exclusive, and so many people talk themselves out of having faith due to the false belief that it precludes the ability to think for oneself. If you're so logical that you ignore the void in your heart, that's a tough barrier to break through. It's a fine line to walk when describing such an interaction with a non-Christian - how do you speak truth without offending the person? But I think the band does a good job here, and I'd much rather have this song here than some spoken altar call or something. Surprisingly, the music really kicks in just when you think the song's over - they choose to rock out instead of ending softly, and the rhythm begins to bend and twist, much like the ending of "Pour Me Out" by PfR (another band that has likely influenced these guys with their irresistible blend of rich harmonies and peppy rock and roll).
After the last song fizzles out, a short poem entitled "Shimmer" follows, written by Nathan Barlowe, but recited by a Japanese woman that the band apparently met in a sushi bar. The Japanese fits in well with some of the Asian-themed artwork on the album cover, but I have to say, this last bit seems like imitation of some more well-known bands. It's kind of a cross between the mood set by the Kevin Max poem that ended the last two dc Talk albums and the synthesized spoken-word "Fitter Happier" from Radiohead's OK Computer album. I guess they can't help to pay homage to their influences - they're all good influences to have! But in the future, if they have one thing to work on, it's making those influences a bit less obvious. Still, I miss PfR, I miss Reality Check, and dc Talk tends to have fairly large gaps between albums. This CD will do a decent job of filling that void if you feel similar about those bands - it's a solid rock album, and it will mesmerize and inspire you.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Heaven, So Far, Beautiful, Complacent, The Way to Your Heart, Superman, Hang on to You
Good: Aliens, Carry Me, Forgiveness, Wait for You
Decent: Running Away
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Band Members:
Nathan Barlowe: Lead vocals, guitars, rhodes
Johnny Macintosh: Lead guitar, keys (has since left the band)
Brad Minor: Bass (has since left the band)
Jonathan Smith: Drums, percussion (has since left the band)
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.