There's a certain downfall to being a music critic. I don't know if my fellow critics have ever noticed this, but it seems that over the past few years that I've been doing this, I've become more and more fickle and unpredictable in terms of what will actually please me. As much as I like to get on my high horse sometimes about how most artists, specifically those in the Christian music industry, and more speficially those oriented towards a more laid back, adult audience, aren't willing to experiment, there are times when I have to admit that I stumble across such an artist whom I love just the way he or she is. And if that artist changes their sound, I'll probably get a bit fussy about it, instead of embracing and encouraging the artist's attempt at exploring. Hypocritical, isn't it?

A perfect example of this quandary would be singer/songwriter Sara Groves. I was pretty stoked a few years ago when I stumbled across Sara's sophomore album, All Right Here. It struck me as the perfect blend of spiritually informed piano balladry and good old folk storytelling - a deliciously transparent cross-section of the songwriter's life, touching on marriage, children, times of personal tragedy, conflict with friends, and of course, Sara's relationship with God. It left an impression on me, and I was fairly certain that I wouldn't mind at all if Sara decided to give us more of the same when she got around to putting out another disc. Instead, Sara decided to take a more adventurous route when recording 2004's The Other Side of Something. While the differences aren't so strong as to be shocking to existing fans, Other Side has clearly been given a more pop-friendly, plugged-in approach in several places, ensuring that almost every deviates from what could be considered the standard Sara Groves sound. While I certainly wouldn't label it a "sellout" due to the interesting instrumental and lyrical choices made on a number of the tracks, it can sometimes be difficult to accept Sara's plaintive, uncomplicated vocals fighting to break through a wall of sound during some of the busier tracks, or the near absence of her former instrument of choice - the piano - on most of the slower stuff. Part of me wants to call it overproduced.

But then, if I'm going to call it overproduced, I have to acknowledge that there's no one that I'd rather have sitting in the over producer's chair than Charlie Peacock, who may well be the most inventive producer ever to work within the CCM pop idiom. I wouldn't have imagined Peacock and Groves as a likely pairing, but it starts to make sense when I consider Sara's multi-faceted songwriting skills and Charlie's keen ear for using whatever elements best fit the song (and Sara's existing producer Nate Sabin was able to temper this with elements of Sara's previous sound, to a certain extent). Even if I can't find a song here that hits me as hard as "Less Like Scars" from the last disc, I don't think the songwriting has diminished in any way - she may have even added a few tricks to her repertoire. But at the end of the day, amidst all of the fun sounds, I guess I'm not finding myself as compelled by the melodies, or drawn in by the messages, as I was last time around. And that's frustrating, because from an artistic standpoint, I should be impressed.

Hmm... I suppose I am impressed with a few isolated songs, though. Strangely enough, the most experimental moments on this album are my favorites. It's just the stuff in between, that seemingly couldn't decide whether to go pop or veer into more unusual territory (unusual being a relative term; we're not talking Radiohead or Wilco unusual here), that isn't moving me to give this disc a ton of spins. I continually find myself figuring out how I feel about a few of these songs as I listen. So I guess the best way to approach a decision is to just tackle the album song by song, as I always do, and figure things out as I go. Does that sound fair? Then let's get going.

The One Thing I Know
And the veil just lifted
I can finally understand the way You work in me
But even if I didn't
You are still a sovereign God who has a plan for me...
A quick acoustic guitar strum and some drug programming start the album off a bit abruptly, and when Sara starts to sing, "And the clouds just parted on a corner of my life", it's easy to feel like you've jumped into the middle of a song, rather than starting from the beginning. The song details an epiphany of sorts, likely one that struck Sara with some sense of urgency, given its placement on the album. The simple response to this breakthrough comes in the chorus: "This is the one thing I know/You said You won't let me go/You've done a good work in me/And now You're making me free." Actually, that's a bit more simplistic than I'm used to from Sara, which is mildly startling when paired with a perky, bouncy melody, so this doesn't end up being the greatest way to start off the album. Still, the verses and the unexpected melodic turns in the rest of the song give it some degree of merit - Sara's gift hasn't been lost amidst the glossier appearance, just a bit subdued.

Jeremiah
I was looking to myself
And I forgot the power of God
I was standing with a sparkler in my hand...
Track two sets a darker, more contemplative mood from the outset with its insistent strokes of cello that end up defining the song's rhythm. It's a mid-tempo number that winds its way through over six minutes of musical goodness as Sara confesses the folly of trying to get by on her own merits, or as she puts it, "Warming my hands by this little light of mine." I love the reference to a well-known children's song there! I'm not exactly sure who "Jeremiah" is, if the song's intended to be addressed to the Biblical Jeremiah or what, but I really like the analogy she's using here. The imagery of God as a fire burning out of control, rendering her tiny little spark of effort unnecessary, is quite similar to the language Nichole Nordeman used in her song "Burnin'". I've compared Groves to Nordeman before, but that comparison is becoming more and more applicable on this album, even if Nichole has generally played it safer production-wise.

Compelled
You've written on my very heart
Where no man can legislate
The law of your love has taken hold
With your holiness and grace...
Another breezy pop song, probably the most Nordeman-esque of anything on the album, starts off here with a sense of urgency - immediately Sara begins to sing "I have a new hope", and then she begins to ponder the dichotomy of being free and being a "slave to Christ". This song was clearly a personal one for her, and it also deals with the spiritual breakthrough alluded to in the first track - she's learning how to afford herself the grace that Christ offers without getting lazy and just assuming she'll never get beyond any of her sin. It's a delightful concept; however, the song that explores it is a bit lacking. The biggest thing that drags it down is an awkward, drawn out chorus - when she sings "I have a new hope that blows away the small hopes I knew before/And at the end of the day, I am Yours", it feels like the first line has too many syllables, and therefore ends up getting stretched to an extra measure, forcing the word "Yours" in the second line to be stretched into far too many syllables to compensate. The melody wanders about too much to really take hold, and while the lyrics are above average, the song as a whole ends up being merely decent. It's unfortunate that this ended up being the first radio single from the album - but then, I probably shouldn't worry too much, given how irrelevant radio is in terms of building a lasting fan base for an artist like Sara. (I don't recall hearing a darn thing on the radio from her last disc, but it seems to have done well enough.)

Roll to the Middle
This is how I know our love, this is when I feel it's power
Here in the absence of it, this is my darkest hour...
Sara turned in an excellent song called "Fly" on her last album, which was about the ability husbands and wives had to build each other up with kind words and actions. This somber tune would be the reverse - a sobering realization of how much words can hurt when she and her beloved Troy get into a fight. I'm sure many couples will relate to the words "We just had a World War III here in our kitchen". These words are backed up by slowly played notes on an electric guitar, which is later joined by sparse piano playing - the song has a dirge-like pace overall, and Sara's vocals stick out almost uncomfortably. (For some reason, she doesn't sound as lovely on this disc as she did on All Right Here, though I guess it's appropriate in the case of this song.) Ultimately, the song opts for a hopeful conclusion as Sara reminds herself to never hold a battle against her husband after the sun goes down, and to always "roll to the middle" and cuddle up next to him when they turn out the lights and go to bed. It's a subtle but well-stated point - married couples may fight, but they generally still have to sleep beside each other, and it's awfully difficult to sleep beside someone you're mad at. The marriage bed becomes a sort of demilitarized zone in that sense. I appreciate Sara's honesty in admitting that yes, even these Christian celebrities whom we put on pedestals have trouble spots in their marriages. My only real problem with the song, other than the odd choice of an electric guitar where an acoustic might have made it stand out a bit more, is the way Sara keeps filling space with wordless humming when she runs out of lyrics. Maybe that's just style, but it seems awkward that the verses have three lines a piece, and then "Mmm-mmm-mmm."

What I Thought I Wanted
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions, I want to know what he knows...
Continuing to defy my expectations, the next song gets things moving again with a synthesized, ambient introduction that sounds like it belongs on an album by The Echoing Green. More organic elements such as a piano and cello are lightly sprinkled in as the song builds, but this is still one of the most "produced" songs that Sara has ever come up with. Charlie Peacock even goes so far as to throw in some backing vocals that remind me a little bit of Avalon, but none of this is a detriment - it's a finely crafted song that finds Sara contemplating the difference between "What I thought I wanted and what I got instead." Using the story of a man who was stood up on his wedding day, and later referring to the Biblical story of Job, Sara affirms that these examples of God taking something away from us can be hidden blessings, and that she wants to be left "broken and grateful". Simply put, it's a lovely and well thought out piece that will slowly work its way into your heart.

Esther
She visits her homeland, she fights with her words
She comes to the courts of the kings of the earth
Who don't understand their inherited power to answer her question...
A more upbeat number follows, with its rambling intro where the instruments seem to kind of "fall together" reminding me very much of Dave Matthews' song "Dodo". Though this is the second song on the album named after a book of the Bible, Sara is actually telling us the story of a modern woman named Esther, whose husband passed away before the couple could have any children, and who found her calling later in life as a missionary and an advocate for impoverished children in Africa. The story recounts Esther's letters back to her supporters (Sara likely being one of them), which plead for everyone to pray for these children. There's a definite joy in Sara's voice when she sings "Now Esther has 2.4 million children". It sounds like a rough statistic, and it's ludicrous to think one woman could actually care for that many people, but that's exactly Sara's point - "There's so much to do, and I'm just Esther." The song is at once a celebration of a woman getting her prayer for children answered in an unexpected way (which makes for a nice thematic continuation out of the last track), and a call to action for her fellow Christians. The only thing that's strange about it is when Sara repeats "She's compelled, she's compelled" - at first it caused me to get this song and the song "Compelled" mixed up in my brain.

The Boxer
And I used to be quick, I used to see it coming
I used to know how to move my feet
Now I can't duck and I can't land nothing
And I forgot how to bob and weave...
Whoa, Sara Groves went and covered a Simon & Garfunkel song? No, actually she didn't - no "lie-la-lie"s to be found here. But Sara does have something in common with S&G, as she's found boxing to make an apt metaphor for her own struggles in life, specifically those of the spiritual variety. In a daring move, she and her studio band have turned out the most non-typical Sara Groves song thus far, and let me tell you, it's a doozy. Light, quick drums and acoustic bass notes flit back and forth throughout the whole thing, creating an irresistible syncopated rhythm over which Sara sings a number of one-off lines that she came up with in the studio while her band was jamming. The central line that she keeps returning to is, "When You said this was a fight, You weren't kidding". Bits of guitar and strange electronic noises flutter around her as the song progresses - the song manages to be moody and intense without being loud, which is certainly an accomplishment. The spontaneous songwriting technique is certainly a world away from Sara's usual storytelling approach, but she's certainly stumbled across a winning formula here. It's like a mental note to herself not to give up the fight despite her cuts and bruises - she keeps reminding herself that she's got to "Bob and weave, bob and weave."

Undone
You have no pretenses
All your walls are fences I can see right through...
Ooh, Sara wrote a song about getting undressed! Scandalous! Actually, contrary to what you might expect from the lyrics, which consist of Sara asking her husband to help her out of a dress because she can't reach the zipper, this song is pretty tame. Much like "Roll to the Middle", it refers to marital intimacy in a subtle way, but this is really used as a metaphor for Sara to explain that her husband is the only one she feels comfortable being completely vulnerable around. She's just returned from an event (perhaps a concert or even the Dove Awards?) where she had to put on a show for people, and she feels somewhat disappointed in herself because of this, but she finds comfort in her husband's arms. This is one song where I wish the production had left well enough alone - it would have been fine as a stark, minimal ballad with just Sara and her piano, but instead some invasive keyboards and programming turn it into a rather unremarkable piece. Pity.

All I Need
New baby, new life
We will teach him to speak French (Parlez-vous Français?)
We've got no money, so we'll make it all ourselves
I'll make the curtains and you make the shelves...
All Right Here had its moments where she hinted at a more whimsical approach, most notably "Just One More Thing" and "Tornado", but Sara had yet to write an out-and-out silly song at that point. Here, she finally lets loose with a self-parody of sorts that can't be taken as anything other than tongue-in-cheek. It starts out like your typical upbeat folk song - an acoustic guitar strums away and a harmonica adds a mildly swampy feel to the song, while Sara sings of being newly married and having no cash to speak of, which I'm sure a lot of young fans will be able to relate to. As time goes by and the couple begins to have children, make friends, and find themselves on firmer financial footing, Sara's desire to fill their house with more stuff becomes more and more insatiable. Have you ever been over to a friend's house and stood dumbfounded at all of the trinkets, paintings, and expensive pieces of furniture that adorned each and every room, wondering who on Earth has the time, energy, and leftover money to hunt down all of this stuff? That's the kind of house that Sara and Troy are building here. As the materialism gets more and more absurd, the song becomes bloated with extra instruments and background singers, to the point of just being ridiculous. The background singers are particularly funny, because they keep interjecting amusing comments, and they even steal from the classic Beatles song "All You Need Is Love" at one point, continually tacking on other things like "...and a few renovations". By the end of the song, the list of "needs" has become overwhelming, and voices are appearing underneath the song, talking about stuff that they want to buy - Sara's son Kirby can be heard at the end talking about all of the toys he wants. It's a laugh out loud moment that confirms Sara as a songwriting genius.

Like a Skin
The butterfly can just look back
Flap those wings and say "Oh, yeah
I never have to be a worm again..."
Settling back into a serious mood, this contemplative ballad (which seems fairly balanced between acoustic and electric elements) find Sara lamenting her inability to change on her own. She's read about the Bible's promise of becoming "a new man" through faith in Christ, but she's frustrated, because she just can't see that promise coming true in real life. She wants to be able to do what snakes and worms can do (technically caterpillars, but let's see you squeeze the word "caterpillar" into a song lyric and make it work!) She echoes a line from "The One Thing I Know" when she explains "Feels like I have been waking up, only to deal with the same old stuff." I know how you feel, sister.

Come Thou Fount
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
The mount of Thy redeeming blood...
Can I air out a pet peeve here? Why is it that, when contemporary Christian artists re-record well-known hymns, they often feel the need to change the melody? Some artists such as Sandra McCracken seem to have made that their specialty, but I guess I didn't expect it from Sara. I love this particular hymn, and while it keeps its 3/4 meter and it even possesses an appropriate Enya-like flavor due to the programming and Irish overtones, I can't get around the fact that the tune goes down when I want it to go up, and vice versa. It makes singing along a pain in the rear, because of what I'm used to. Nevertheless, this is a well-placed hymn that has found a resurgence in popularity thanks to groups like the David Crowder Band and Jars of Clay re-recording it, and it aptly sums up the internal change that Sara has been praying for throughout this record. She's changed a few lyrics here and there - the song still has the same meaning, but she's taken liberties with a few words and phrases. The most notable change is when she lingers on the phrase "Prone to wander", appropriately wandering from the format of the song for a little bit and inserting her own line, "Prone to hear You and not heed it." Ultimately, it's a good rendition, just not what I was expecting. That could sum up my feelings about the entire album, actually.

I've decided that The Other Side of Something is a well-made album after all. Despite a few points where it stumbles, Sara has remained consistently engaging and relevant in terms of her message and the way she gets it across through her lyrics. She's shown inventiveness in her arrangements, and really, this is an important step for a songwriter to take who has previously been pigeonholed as a folk singer. To use the obvious pun, she's showing us the other side of Sara Groves. Now, if she can successfully integrate this new side with her more familiar side on her next album (i.e. if she can keep the experimentation but not overdo it), I think she'll have arrived at her finest hour. Until then, The Other Side of Something stands as a worthy companion to her last album, but if you're new to Sara's work, you'll probably still want to start with All Right Here.

ALBUM WORTH:
The One Thing I Know $.50
Jeremiah $1.50
Compelled $0
Roll to the Middle $1
What I Thought I Wanted $2
Esther $1
The Boxer $2
Undone $.50
All I Need $2
Like a Skin $1.50
Come Thou Fount $1
TOTAL: $13

CONCLUSION: Worth buying if you can get it at a sale price. Full price is a bit too much this time around.

Website: http://www.saragroves.com

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Cleaning the House