Derek Webb is one of those songwriters who I admire a great deal even though his musical style isn't my favorite thing in the world to listen to. Maybe it's just my need to support songwriters who are trying to challenge the Christian music industry rather than conforming to its perceived need to keep it simple and sell, sell, sell - but there are a few songwriters like Derek who I consider to be among the elite and whose records I will buy without having heard a single note. Derek is now on his second solo album since forfeiting the job security he had with Caedmon's Call, and while that move made me seriously doubt whether the band had a future, I was glad that Derek would get the chance to discuss some deeper issue of faith on his first solo album, She Must and Shall Go Free. That album proved to be a gentle but firm message to the modern day church about its propensity to think it needed things other than Jesus, couched in an Americana-based style that proved to be a departure from Caedmon's Call. While I couldn't fully get into all of Derek's songs, I gave him mad props just for having the guts to pursue his own vision and no one else's in terms of his music. He couldn't have done that from within the band, so he made an amicable exit in a timely manner (fortunately, the band has experienced a bit of a rebirth with this year's Share the Well). It was difficult news to hear, but it turned out to be a wise move in the end.

Well, it you thought that Derek's first album was a bit of an oddity, then you ain't heard nothing yet. Taking the expectations that one might have after that album and turning them on their heads, Derek's follow-up, appropriately titled I See Things Upside Down, is the kind of record that will prove to be a challenge for pretty much anyone who listens to it. That's not to say that it's so psychedelic and bizarre that it'll make your head spin - but it isn't familiar territory for Derek, either. The lyrics may be classic Derek, shamelessly pointing out the tendency of Christians to pursue earthly pleasure and block out pain to the point where their faith becomes rather impotent and irrelevant, but the music is definitely a bit of an experiment. Have you listened to any Wilco records recently? Derek certainly has. And if the sort of strained, ironic poetry and electronic knob-twiddling combined with earthy folk and rock influences that Wilco has become known for are in any way appealing to you, then you might take a liking to Derek's new style. I can't say that it's something I'm terribly enthused about, but all the same, it's not a terribly trendy sound, and I have to respect Derek for venturing into "unsafe" territory when the people he's making music for would have probably been happier to see him crank out mindless catchy singles. Hey, I like mindless catchy singles now and again, but it seems sketchy when that is the only valid form for a song about something more weighty and serious. Derek isn't catering to anyone's whims here.

Or is he? That's the question that goes through my head at certain points while listening to ISTUD (which is a humorous acronym if I've ever seen one). Did Derek do this because this is the sort of sound and recording technique that he really likes? Or is it just a conscious attempt to be anti-pop and gain some indie cred by making weird sounds and purposefully muting any elements of his songs that could be perceived as catchy as single-worthy? Maybe that's taking a bit too far, but since the songs aren't quite far out enough to make them all stand out as something that you just have to hear to believe, I'm realizing that it's not the weirdness that bothers me, it's the monotony in some places. The pace is mostly slow, and while the lyrics are brilliant, several choruses can stretch out to the point of losing their clout, and the tempos and rhythms can seem overly sluggish at times when it doesn't really seem to serve the song. And the vocals - YIKES. Derek's voice always had a slightly whiny quality to it, but I had come to love it over the years for its ability to waver between a throaty wail and a gentle croon. In several places on this album, Derek just sounds ragged - get the man a cough drop or something! I suppose it adds a certain air of humanity, but such things can only work in a limited context before they start to get irritating. Then again, there's Bob Dylan, so what in the Hades do I know?

To Derek's credit, being able to come up with an above average album even when it seems like you've purposefully dulled most of your edges is quite a feat. Kind of like the time in college when I got a draft of a paper back from a professor and he had circled several sentences in red ink. Thinking that these sentences were problematic, I proceeded to remove or edit them all at the eleventh hour, only to find out upon turning in my final draft that the circled sentences were all of the good points that the professor had noted. And I still got a B+! Yeah, this album is like that. Even with what seems like a self-imposed handicap, Derek still manages to win me over.

I Want a Broken Heart
I thought the cattle on a thousand hills
Was not enough to pay my bills
And I fell in love with those who proved me wrong...
Well, if you were expecting something resembling the last record, you're going to be in shock when this song cuts in suddenly (honestly, it sounds like the recording was clipped and this isn't supposed to actually be the beginning of the album) and you're greeted with an electronic hum, somewhat like a distant radio station being interfered with as you pass under a tower, and some seemingly random scattered notes from a piano. Derek's voice eventually appears over the noise and the song begins to coalesce at that point, as Derek unloads a heartfelt confession that isn't too different from "Wedding Dress" on the last album, except that it's less controversial. He's kind of playing the spiritual outlaw here, admitting that "I've got faith in the bank, and money in my heart", and that basically he's guilty of not trusting in God to give him all that he needs. Drums eventually join in, and it's no coincidence that the song shifts from sounding like Wilco to sounding like The Normals at this point, since Cason Cooley, former keyboard player for The Normals, is a part of Derek's makeshift band, contributing toy piano and likely the same ambience that set the tone for that band's "I'll Be Home Soon". Subtle drums provide an anchor for most of the song, turning it into a more traditional folk ballad, but it still begins and ends abruptly with radio noise.

Better than Wine
You are beautiful, eyes like doves, oh my love
You have lips like jewels, hair of gold, oh my love...
One of the more traditional and easygoing folk songs on the album shows up early on - with a pace that is at once relaxed and upbeat enough for radio, Derek offers up a sweet love song that could be from God to man, or possibly from him to his wife. The basic idea seems to be taken from the Song of Solomon, an unabashedly sexual book of the Bible that compares a lover to wine, so Derek isn't out of line doing so here. There's a rich subtlety to this simple tune that turns it into something special - it shimmers despite its sheer simplicity. Perhaps it's the melody or the way that the acoustic guitars blend with the piano, drums, and an understated electric guitar, as well as Derek's sweet but brief falsetto during the chorus. For much of this record, Derek's vocals take a more raspy approach, so enjoy the crooning here while you can!

The Strong, the Tempted, and the Weak
Here let the weary rest, who love the Savior's name
Though with no sweet enjoyments blessed, this covenant stands the same...
One thing that Derek and his wife, indie singer/songwriter Sandra McCracken, seem to really love is taking old hymn texts and setting them to modern melodies and instrumentation. This song serves as a good example of that, taking an obviously archaic bit of prose and matching it up with a subtle but driving musical dynamic that reminds me a little bit of U2's "Hawkmoon 269". It's heady stuff, but the song seems to mainly be about those who are spiritually strong needing to band together with those who are weaker, realizing that all Christians are tempted and that some of the strength to resist it is found in unity. That's what I get out of it, anyway. Derek sounds like he might need to clear his throat a little on the chorus, and the song overall seems to build without knowing how to climax. As much as I admire Derek for this update, I think he's borrowing a bit too much from U2 - the strings that threaten to take over at the end of the song are basically mimicking the end of "All I Want Is You" (or perhaps one of the million songs that borrowed that trick from "All I Want Is You" - whatever).

Reputation
I know you know me well enough by now
And you're loving me as well as you know how
But I need one more chance to let you down
'Cause no one else will give it to me now...
Gentle, systematic notes from the piano serve as the guide to this apologetic little song, probably from Derek to his wife. (I always wondered what sort of relationship songs he'd end up writing after getting married, and I've had to wait from CC's Long Line of Leavers until now to find out.) It's essentially the voice of a guy standing out in the cold, asking the woman he loves to let him back in and give him another chance despite her disappointment in him. The raspy vocals actually kind of work in this song's favor because there's a definite sense of weariness to it. Derek's the kind of guy who will speak the truth and doesn't care what everyone thinks of him, but his wife may be the one person on the planet whose opinion he values a great deal, and as he tells her, "I've got a reputation with everyone, but I don't want one with you." A reputation can be an interesting thing, because the word seems to denote a sense of what people are saying about you, rather than what's being gleaned from their face-to-face interactions with you. When look at that way, Derek seems to be saying that he doesn't want his mistakes to put distance between him and his wife, to the point where she starts believing what other people are saying about him. It's an honest song - a but sluggish, but definitely memorable, especially when drummer Will Sayles gets to show off a little bit at the end after being on mellow auto-pilot for most of the song.

I Repent
I repent, I repent of trading truth for false unity
I repent, I repent of confusing peace and idolatry...
Amp up the presence of the strings on this one, and maybe up the tempo just a tad, and I think you'd have a Beatles song. The slightly bouncy piano rhythm seems to want to evoke that sort of a mood, but I think Derek's touch is a bit too weighty to really pull that off here. In any case, fans still get a decent studio recording here of a song that made its debut on Derek's live record, The House Show. This is more or less a song where Derek stands up in front of all of his friends, fans, and family, and says "I am wrong". Here he is, this guy who a lot of fans (especially the intellectual college types) probably look up to and even put on a pedestal, and he's reminding us that he has to continually be reminded not to idolize the things of the world. He's repenting for worshipping things that he doesn't even have yet, like children, as well as simple everyday things like his car or his job. Not that any of these things are bad - but how easy is it to worship the creation rather than the Creator? One of Derek's confessions should be sufficient to punch most Americanized church folk in the gut - it's when Derek says that he repents "of domesticating You until You look just like me." Ouch!

Medication
I'd rather suffer my whole life
And be this rich man's wife
If loving You means suffering...
The piano is actually a more prominent instrument on this album than I had previously realized - here, it gives the song more of a dusky, somber mood at the beginning, before the drums pick it up and run with it, giving it an almost smooth soulfulness (as much of that as you're likely to get from Derek, who is really more of a country boy at heart). Much like the seemingly masochistic prayer of "I Want a Broken Heart", Derek is doing the exact opposite of what most Christians do here, and asking God to take away the things that comfort him and shield him from the truth. It's a bold song of commitment to God, and probably one that'll have Derek wishing he hadn't written it when it comes true (much like Steven Curtis Chapman's moment of boldness in "Bring it On"), but pure masochism is not the reason for this prayer - it's an awareness of the need to be refined, and the tendency of humans to turn to worldly comforts so that they can numb the pain and forget about their need to change. Derek played around with the analogy of God as the bridegroom and the Church as the bride on his last album, and while he doesn't lean on it as much here, I am reminded of the few brave mothers who, when taken into the maternity ward to deliver babies, insist on a "natural" childbirth. New life and maturity seem to be the things that Derek is birthing here, and he's decided he'd rather grit his teeth and bear it.

We Come to You
We come broken, and we come undone
We come trying hard to love everyone
But we come up short in all that we do...
It's funny - I criticized Caedmon's Call rather sharply for ceasing to work with songwriter Aaron Tate, since I thought that he and Derek were responsible for the band's strongest material over the years (two albums where their creative input was largely absent proved that much). And I was happy to see that Derek was still using a few of Aaron's songs after leaving the band. But this collaboration between Derek and Aaron just plain doesn't work. Based off of a rather plain guitar melody, which is inexplicably backed by fluffy synths and drums that do their darndest to be unobtrusive, this song seems to be aiming for the "pleasantly nondescript" feel of your average Christian AC radio song - the kind of thing you'd expect Derek to rebel against. While Aaron's lyrics about coming to God just as we are do have a bit of meat to them, it's a bit tough to actually chew the meat without much in the way of seasoning, if you know what I mean. Three or four minutes of this would have been tolerable, I guess - and that's actually how long the part of the song with words actually lasts, but then it plunges headlong into over five minutes of repetition of the same guitar chords. Repetition of the same guitar chords. Repetition of the same guitar chords. Repetition of the same guitar chords. Repetition of the same guitar chords. Repetition of THE SAME FREAKING GUITAR CHORDS OVER AND OVER AND OVER FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES!!!!! Alright, Derek, we get it - you want us to meditate on what you just sang! You know, we could always turn off the CD player for that! I consider myself a patient listener, but this is just ridiculous! The first time I heard it, I honestly thought my CD player must have been skipping, because how could a song go on that long without even the most minute change in dynamics? Oy vey...

T-Shirts (What We Should Be Known for)
They'll know us by the reasons we divide
And how we can't seem to unify
Because we've gotta sing songs a certain style
Or we'll walk right down that aisle
And just leave 'em all behind...
Derek quickly redeems himself with a song that you more or less can tell the meaning of from the title, but that nevertheless directs a few zingers where they're needed most. Once again taking on a syncopated rhythm that isn't really fast enough to be "bouncy", but that gives the song a slight amount of whimsy nonetheless, Derek toys with the old hymn that says "They will know we are Christians by our love", pointing out instead that it's more like they'll know us for our petty arguments and divisiveness and cheesy slogans. It's so true - just look at how Christians are portrayed in the media these days. We look like a bunch of friggin' idiots, and you know, sometimes we are. I mean, everybody can be a friggin' idiot - it's not just Christians, but it sure stings a lot more when such things are done in the name of an all-powerful God. Derek's usual raspiness becomes a bit of a problem on the chorus when he wails "Love, love, love, is what we should be known for", so it's really the verses that are the main strength of this song, but that doesn't make it any less worth hearing. Some slightly fuzzy guitar soloing adds a bit of color to the song, and it basically turns out to be a worthwhile protest against our complacent behavior, that we think we can cover up by wearing silly T-shirts and doing and saying all of the right "Christian" things when seen in public.

Ballad in Plain Red
Don't want the song, I want a jingle
I love you, Lord, but don't hear a single
And the truth is nearly impossible to rhyme...
I'd have to say that this is the most "fun" song on the record, probably because it's got a mischievous air to it, as Derek takes on the point of view of the self-centered bad guy who just wants to exploit Jesus for money. (Oh wait, maybe he's not acting, given the things he's confessed elsewhere in the album!) While it feels like the percussion and guitars have been toned way down from what could have been a scorching, indicting rocker, it's still got a fun groove to it, shaded nicely by more toy piano and Derek's washed out vocals, which you kind of have to strain to understand because they've been mixed a bit thin. "Everything's for sale in the 21st century", he slyly tells us, and he accurately sums up the "sell first, pray later" mentality that so much of the Christian music industry seems to have - "What works versus what's right... what's the difference tonight? Hey, alright!" Why he called this song a "Ballad", I honestly couldn't tell you, since it's not really a "slow" song, but in any event, it's a fun little experiment, definitely a highlight of the record.

Nothing Is Ever Enough
She's a jewel in the nose of a fool
She's beautiful, but she don't know who she is...
This is apparently preceded by over 30 seconds of silence. It may not actually be complete silence, since I don't have the best speakers and there may be a slight low-end hum coming out of them that leads into the watery guitar intro at about 0:45. But for all intents and purposes, it strikes me as a glaring gap in between two solid songs - momentum has already been a problem on this album, but this really takes the cake! I don't mean to diss the actual song, since it's an intriguing, sad-sounding number about being madly in love with a girl but knowing she's not right for you and you'll have to leave her in the end. Fortunately for Derek, this song isn't about Sandra - it's more of a metaphor about his decision to leave Caedmon's Call. While that knowledge seems to paint the band in a bad light, I don't think it's meant to criticize them, but rather to say that their function was different and it wasn't God's plan for him to stay with the band. In any case, Derek does a commendable job here, considering that I normally find electric-guitar only ballads to be rather boring. His vocals are at their absolute worst on this track, to be completely honest with you, but once you get past that, it's one of those songs that can easily grab you on an emotional level and not let go.

Lover Part 2
I'm dressed up like it's Halloween
I'm greedy at Your door
I'm naked as a crime scene
You're murdered on my floor...
While this song is posed as the sequel to a track from She Must and Shall Go Free, it actually bears no musical or structural resemblance to the original "Lover". This tune is sparse, once again leading off with sparse piano notes, and then becoming a bit of a dirge led by thumping drums and light but moody strokes of electric guitar. It's more of a slacker alternative feel, in some ways. Derek is unflinching here in his retelling of how his actions have murdered Jesus, and yet Jesus has set him free. Thematically, it fits into the ongoing dialogue with the Creator that several of the last album's songs contributed to, and the song's good in that respect, though it does seem a bit too slow and measured to make a full impact, and since almost every song in this area of the album is over five minutes long, it can play tricks on the old attention span.

What Is Not Love
What looks like torture is a time to rejoice
What sounds like thunder is a comforting voice...
The well of dichotomy always seems to be a good one for Christian songwriters to draw from, simply because the Gospel takes human logic and turns it on its head in so many ways. Derek's songwriting is no exception here, summing up the theme of the album as he pairs opposites together, explaining that everything that looks good to him can actually be bad, and vice versa. What's more, God takes the bad, the wasted, the seemingly worthless, and redeems it into something good, and that's the process that Derek is appreciating as he sings this song. For a change, the music is allowed to flow a little more naturally, utilizing the soft call of a synthesizer in the background, but resting mostly on a comfortable acoustic guitar strum in 3/4 time and some light piano. The open, airy feel gives us a chance to hold up each set of contradictions and examine them for their intrinsic irony and worth, and by the time the song culminates in the words "I say I don't know You, but You say it's finished", it's hard to deny that you've just witnessed a poignant work of art. This song is a key of sorts, giving you a way in (which most albums would try to do right at the beginning rather than the end) and inviting you go back and examine the rest of the album with this "upside down" , mindset, as if defying you to learn to love everything you might have hated about it.

So, did Derek actually manage to do the trick? Has my impatience with the repetition and slowness turned to patience, and has the irritating sound of his raspy voice become pure music to my ears? No. At least not yet. There comes a point when, as much as I admire an artist for doing something different, I have to step back and say that it didn't quite work for me the way the artist may have hoped it would. And that's really my only reservation about this album - the fact that Derek had a lot of ideas regarding how to make this record stand out, but he had a tougher time figuring out how to make it truly classic without succumbing to the lowest-common-denominator pleas of Christian radio. Maybe next time around, Derek will give us something with a little more finesse, but as a testament to where he's at and what he's learning right now, I See Things Upside Down will serve as a fine enough memento.

ALBUM WORTH:
I Want a Broken Heart $1
Better than Wine $1.50
The Strong, the Tempted, and the Weak $.50
Reputation $1
I Repent $1
Medication $1
We Come to You -$.50
T-Shirts (What We Should Be Known for) $1
Ballad in Plain Red $1.50
Nothing Is Ever Enough $1
Lover Part 2 $1
What Is Not Love $1.50
TOTAL: $11

Website: http://www.derekwebb.com

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying