Nichole Nordeman has undergone a gradual transformation during her 7 years as a major label singer-songwriter from critical dark horse to mature pop princess. It isn't necessarily a bad thing to acknowledge that, and while I may pine for the days of brash questioning and spirited, melancholy performance as seen on her debut Wide Eyed, I've gotta admit that the growth shown on her third record, the comparably more relaxed and confident Woven & Spun, was promising. That was a subtle record, focusing more on God's goodness than the need to know "why", as it took longer to really get into it because of the initial impression that it was just a lot of unbridled happiness. Something about the delicate melodies and keen observations of that record, Nichole's first since becoming a more award-decorated member of the Christian Radio Regulars Club, rung true with its honest desire to trust God and its admission that she struggled with trusting herself, lest her newfound success go to her head.

Following a little bit of time off due to the birth of her first child, Nichole has returned with a fourth record, Brave. At first glance, this is the kind of follow-up that we'd expect to a record like Woven & Spun - it once again takes a mature and even meek approach in its crafting of modern pop music, with the title chosen due to Nichole's relatively new status as a wife and mother having turned her life upside and forced her to take some chances. That's not to say that this is a record about motherhood, or really any specific experience - Nichole tends to keep her observations pretty general even when they're inspired by personal events. So what exactly is Brave, then? I'm honestly trying to figure it out. It's in no way a bad move for Nordeman, but at the same time, much less of it is sticking with me than what I've found on her previous albums (even the less satisfactory This Mystery, which I respect a lot but never really listen to). It's not that she hasn't tried her hand at songs that ask tough questions like "Wide Eyed", or ballads that cause me to tear up a bit like "I Am", or even left-field covers, for that matter. That stuff's all here. Maybe I just feel like, for the first time, Nichole's in a bit of a holding pattern. And with a record titled Brave, that's probably about the last place you'd hope to find yourself.

Maybe it's the music that isn't doing it for me this time around. Nichole has always had an element of glossy programming to offset the more organic nature of her piano-driven songs. That means that her albums are usually a balance between stark piano ballads and more breezy pop fare (with Wide Eyed containing the additional element of some slightly jazz-influenced pieces). No problem there - I can get into a song like "Holy" just as much as I can get into a quieter, more intimate song like "Every Season". But this time around, much of the programmed element comes across as uninspired. There are layers and washes of ambience, but for the most part, I feel like they're there to distract from so-so composition, not because they really suit the song. Even if the sound is a tad more "modern" that Nichole's previous album, the unfortunate result is that she's become even more Adult Contemporary and "safe". I feel like I should be challenged by this record, and I'm not. That leaves an album that has some nice things to say in terms of reassuring believers of what they already know, but it just seems like a now-veteran artist such as Nordeman, always noted for her well-crafted lyrics, should have a little more to say to us than to take a leap of faith and "hold on" because "someday" things will change. Just look at the song titles on this album. Not to say that she can't position a wonderful meditation behind an ordinary title such as "I Am" or "Holy", but this time around, the lack of unique titles gives away a lack of anything really striking that Nichole has to say, save for the album's last song, which is in my opinion its centerpiece. And that's far too long to wait for things to start getting really good.

Brave
The gate is wide, the road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground, it's safe and sound
And until now, it's where I've been...
So far, so good. The album's title track gets things off to a brisk start, much like "Holy" did on the last album. With sparkling piano and acoustic instruments picking away in the background, Nichole sings about how easy it is to just maintain the status quo in order to please a crowd, letting fear of the unknown cause her to just keep doing the same thing. A feeling of liberation comes through in the chorus, where she tells God, "You make me wanna be brave". The bridge is probably the song's most interesting component, where the piano part turns a little more whimsical, and Nichole's lyrics about a small flame turning into a huge fire are very reminiscent of the song "Burnin'" from her first album (but played at a much faster tempo). It's an interesting combination of musical styles, and If the rest of the album followed suit, I'd be willing to consider this song as a signal that Nichole had turned over a new leaf. However, it isn't long before the music returns to "status quo".

What If
What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes?
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold?
A slower, but still somewhat tense melody, made somewhat entrancing by the shimmering keyboards and programming that introduces the song, sets Nichole up nicely for a song devoted to the difficult questions asked by a non-Christian friend of hers. She does a pretty good job of evoking the uneasy feeling that some people have about Christianity, due to unanswered, troubling questions, or just the overall notion that that Jesus was just a "good prophet" but not any sort of a deity. At this point, you're thinking that she's gotta be setting this up for a pretty solid resolution, but once we get to the chorus, all she can really offer is, "What if you're wrong, what if there's more? What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?" What she's trying to do is to remind us that being a Christian requires a certain "leap of faith" despite some of the difficult questions, and I agree with that, but I don't think it's sufficient to just say, "So what, try it out anyway", which is basically what she's doing here. Ever heard of Pascal's Wager? It's basically the notion that, faced with the choice to believe in God or not to believe, it's better to bet on God, because the expected outcome will be greater that way than if one decides not to believe. The error lies in assuming that the only options are the Christian God or no God, and obviously someone seeking the truth in terms of what religion they should follow is going to have more options than that available to them - a person needs a little more to grab onto before I think they're ready to take such a leap specifically toward Christianity. Theological quibbles aside, there are some good instances of wordplay here, such as the line "What if the arms that catch you catch you by surprise?", but the concept of the song needs a little more work.

Someday
We are born with a lingering hunger
We are born to be unsatisfied
We are strangers who can't help but wonder
And dream about the other side...
I know that I've complained about the programmed elements on this CD, but I do have to say that the way this song fades in, with its warm ambience and Nichole's voice, cut apart and reconstructed by computers, echoing in the background. Music-wise, this is my favorite track on the album - it's not flashy, but it's sublime in its own gentle fashion. The song continues on the theme of difficult questions, seeking to address some one who is already a Christian but who faces suffering that can't easily be explained away. She acknowledges that lingering hunger to understand why, and normally I might cringe at a song that simply states that we'll know the answers "someday", but I think that the way Nichole wrote it makes it clear that there may be answers we're not meant to know in lifetime. Because of that, the song taps into a longing that Christians have to see things from a more eternal perspective, but comforts us in a different way, by reminding us that not grasping the answers while we're still here on Earth as mortals doesn't mean that our faith is weak. It's a tough balance, to acknowledge that this sort of hunger and desire to know "why" is in our nature, and to comfort someone by telling them they're not meant to have the answers yet. Nichole pulls it off with finesse, even if she does it with a song that might not be immediately noticed or appreciated by many who listen to this album.

Real to Me
I am weary of the answers
More theory and cliché
They raise the letter of the law like a banner
'Til you're small and far away...
Another upbeat song appears here... Thus far, this album is following the template laid out by "Woven & Spun", as the pacing of this one reminds me a bit of "Legacy". Building on the theme established by the last few questions, she now turns to address a person who seems to be a self-professed "answer man" type of Christian. She's a bit frustrated by this person, basically saying that his smugness tunrs her off and she's much rather know what he's really like, warts and doubts and all, on the inside. While that's admirable, something about the instrumentation makes the song feel a bit rote - I can't tell it apart from several of her other upbeat songs. The chorus, which takes the line "Be real to me now" and rhymes it with "Be real somehow", is also a bit lacking. Another one of those "A for effort, C for execution" type of moments that is all too common on this album.

Crimson
One choice, one tree
One fall for humanity
One lie, one liar
One bite is all death required...
Nichole makes an interesting choice here - she takes an ages-old musical interlude and adds lyrics to it. Last time I heard a songwriter attempt such a thing was Norah Jones' "I Don't Miss You at All". (To be fair, it's often a difficult task.) In this case, she's chosen Chopin's "Prelude in E Minor", and she's added short but poetic lyrics that focus on original sin and Christ's sacrifice, each line beginning with the word "One". It's a lovely piece, but the lyrics stumble over the fluid rhythm of the piano playing a bit, and it only runs for a scant two minutes, fading into a long, ambient segue to the next song.

Hold On
It will find you when the doctor's head is shaking
It will find you in a boardroom mostly dead
It will crawl into the foxhole where you're praying
It will curl up in your halfway empty bed...
This is one of those songs that aims to be lovely in its understated ness, and at first I was rather struck by its description of grace following man into dark places of adultery and addiction and boredom and what have you. Opening a mellow, clearly adult contemporary song with the lines "It will find you at the bottom of a bottle, it will find you at the needle's end" is certainly a gutsy move. However, this is another case where an intriguing verse leads into a disappointing chorus - in this case it's "Hold on, love will find you/Hold on, He's right behind you now." Once the list of dire situations has been exhausted, the song just kinds of plods along on its extremely slow rhythm, taking over five minutes to wind down. There's a slightly interesting, moody guitar solo in the middle, but it's a bit too late and too subdued to really retain my Interest. I just have to wonder why she couldn't say something more profound about how or why that love is sustained even when we humans are so wayward.

Lay It Down (Song for a Prodigal)
I spent your money
Living on the fringes
But you threw a party for me
Invited all your big friends...
I'm tempted to be turned off by this song almost immediately due to the painfully outdated programming that begins right away with Nichole's lyrics - sounds like someone just hit a button on a cheap Casio and let it play throughout the song (though other elements show up to drown it out close to the chorus). The song turns out to unfold into a fairly upbeat take on the "prodigal son" story - one perhaps more eloquently explored by Casting Crowns in the same year (and that's probably the only time I'll admit that Casting Crowns was better than anyone at anything), but Nichole's still done a decent job here. Her meek voice doesn't seem quite suited for the more spirited chorus, and for such a gifted songwriter, I have to wonder why she's settled for lines as banal as "Lay it down a little, lay it down a lot." I don't know; too Sunday School-ish for me.

No More Chains
I wonder now if the choice was mine
The door was open, I walked inside
Nobody had my arm twisted
Nobody made me stay...
Here's another overused analogy - chains and other prison-like restraints representing a sinful past. Nichole's reaching for a lot of low-hanging fruit this time around, sad to say. This song isn't quite sure what it wants to be - breezy inspirational pop or something with a little more of a groove to it. There are a lot of elements here, from the preacher heard in the background at the beginning of the track, to the smooth melody, to the gentle strokes of guitar and warm keyboard tones that add a little color here and there. The real problem is that the song doesn't seem to go anywhere - it builds up momentum but stays frustratingly restrained, and again, I think Nichole's meek singing style is partially to blame (I've heard "Is It Any Wonder"; I know this girl can belt it out when she needs to). She's got a nother good setup, describing self-inflicted captivity that drew her away from the concept of grace and freedom over time, but then she sums it up with another grade-school-level chorus: "No more chains, no more chains/Big and small, watch them fall away."

Gotta Serve Somebody
You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, knowing how to cut hair
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir...
Here's this album's oddball cover - Nichole decided to take on the legendary Bob Dylan this time. Now that's not such a bad choice - Kevin Max and Nickel Creek have also offered interesting Dylan covers recently, and I think some of his stuff deserves to be brought up to date. Whether it deserves a dance mix, though, I honestly can't say. I'm a bit perplexed by this out-of-character turn - Nichole's got more of a bumping beat going on, as well as some funky guitar riffage here and there and little bits of keyboard spice that maybe try a bit too hard to be cute. It's certainly the "bravest" thing she's done on this record, so I'll give her points for not minding that she's throwing her audience a curveball. Here's the thing, though - and I realize that this might be sacrilege, but I'll say it anyway - this song has really dumb lyrics. They're specific, they're quirky, and maybe they were meant to be somewhat amusing; I don't know. Going on about how you might have all sorts of random prestigious positions in life, but you're gonna have to serve somebody - well, that's a true principle worth pointing out, but the "punchline" kind of loses its power after about eight or so of Dylan's silly rhymes. Couple that with an electronically flattened singing style that makes it easy to mistake Nichole for a teen pop also-ran such as Hilary Duff, and you can see why I'm not always happy to have this one stuck in my head. The diversion from sleepy AC is nice while it lasts, I suppose.

Live
So why would a young man live in a wasteland
When the castle of his dreams is standing by?
Why would a princess put on an old dress
To dance with her beloved and a chance to catch his eye?
Back to the middle ground we go, with another too-slow-to-make an impact tempo that kind of keep this song's rich acoustic guitar hook from really sinking in. I'll blame the percussion again - sorry, Nichole, but programmed drums and understated synth blurps aren't working in your favor. In keeping with the album's theme, this song further explores the ho-hum daily life of a Christian who can't quite seem to grasp to concept of Jesus coming to give them abundant life. They've been presented with something radical, but they settle for something ordinary. I know how that can be, so I admire Nichole for being willing to gently kick our butts about it. It's unfortunate that once again, a line like "You make me want to live", which should be really celebratory, rings false due to the dull way it's performed. There are a few noteworthy lyrics here, but the song needs an overhaul if it expects to be really noticeable.

We Build
On any given day, we could simply walk away
And let someone else hold the pieces
The lie that we tell says it's better somewhere else
As if love flies south when it freezes...
At long last, we reach an example of truly solid songwriting. Tucked away at the end of the album is a gentle ode to Nichole's marriage, softly floating along on a sparse piano melody in 6/8 time. Nichole describes the more difficult seasons of marriage as a house battered by a storm, an ugly and unrecognizable pile of rubble that now presents a huge task for the owners. It's hard to romanticize the concept of good, hard work, but Nichole does a great job of it here, telling her husband, "If you hold the nails, I'll take the hammer/I'll hold it still, if you climb the ladder/If you will, then I will build." The song rings true with me, having already been through a difficult situation within the first few months of my own marriage (due to circumstance, not because she's not a great person or anything!), and knowing that love is more than just some fleeting feeling that flies away, never to return, when stormy weather hits. Nichole is eloquent in her attempt to promote long-term commitment over blowing with the wind based on temporary, hormone-driven feelings, but she does so without it feeling like a lecture to other couples. It's her tendency to write in first person that keeps it from feeling like a big moral lesson, and makes it more of a personal observation. "Not just for now, not just today, but it's you and only you, for always". That's one of those lines that makes my heart melt, and while the song's rhythm feels a bit loose at times, this is definitely the most enduring track on the album.

It's notable that Nordeman always manages to close her albums with a standout track. Wide Eyed's "River God", This Mystery's "Every Season" (or "Why", if bonus tracks count), Woven & Spun's "Gratitude"... these are all enduring pieces of work that stand among her best-written songs. It's OK to have lighthearted, upbeat pop tunes, too, but Nichole has shown us in the past that such things can also be intelligent and well-written, so I'm curious as why she settled for more surface-level observations throughout so much of Brave. More consistency in terms of songwriting and musical variation is going to be the determining factor, when Nichole's next album comes out, in deciding whether she's still a vital CCM artist or she's going the way of acts like Third Day and Michael W. Smith, who were once noted for making powerful and relevant music, but have now largely settled for the easy way out in order to please the majority of the Christian crowd.

In other words, Nichole's next album should be all about what Brave was supposed to have been about - taking chances.

ALBUM WORTH:
Brave $1.50
What If $1
Someday $1.50
Real to Me $1
Crimson $1
Hold On $.50
Lay It Down $.50
No More Chains $.50
Gotta Serve Somebody $1
Live $.50
We Build $1.50
TOTAL: $11.50

Website: http://www.nicholenordeman.com

Recommended: Yes