Well folks, it's that time again. Around February or March of every year, for the last three years, the band Kutless has put out an album. Their seems to be quite popular among evangelical Christians, particularly those who want to feel like they're hip to what the young people are listening to these days. Christian radio certainly loves 'em, given the ease with which they can go from trendy-sounding rockers to faceless adult contemporary ballads with vaguely rock-ish instrumentation. And they don't mince words - nosirree Bob, these dudes are about as straightforward as they come, because "ministry" is infinitely more important than silly, vain pursuits such as artistry.

Did I mention that I can't stand this band? Eh, you probably knew that from my review of the notoriously bland Strong Tower. Or the muddled, uneven Sea of Faces. Or their memorably irritating self-titled debut. You'd almost expect their latest release, Hearts of the Innocent, to get a cursory listen from me at best, so that I could quickly slap a one-star rating on it, proclaim they were still a lousy group of musicians and songwriters, and get on with my life. But as mean as I can be when critiquing their music sometimes, that wouldn't be entirely fair, so listen carefully I must, and admit when they've made positive changes I will. (And talk like Yoda I will not.)

For a change, let's start with the positives. First of all, they have a new drummer and bass player, and the drums actually stand out on several songs. Second, their guitarists sound like they finally learned how to play rhythm and lead instead of just mimicking each other on every song (i.e. there are some actual memorable riffs here). And third, they have, uh, a new drummer and bass player. And that's all I got to say about that.

And then of course, there are the negatives. Banal, forced songwriting, stunted vocal delivery that does few favors for the emotional concepts that the songs are attempting to convey, shameless attempts to blend in with the wallpaper on ballads which take up about half the record... you know, the usual Kutless fare. Everything I've complained about before, I can complain about here, except for maybe sounding like a Creed clone (which they'll get made fun of for as long as they're around, but to be fair, it hasn't really been an issue since their first album). What really bugs me, though, is that because the music has improved on a few of the upbeat songs, it makes the bad lyrics seem all the more atrocious. As it turns out, I'm not just imagining that because I'm upset about decent music being wasted. It turns out that both their most idiotically naïve ballad and their most pungently offensive rocker appear on this album (twice if you have the special edition!). If not for those, I might be willing to proclaim this disc as Kutless's best album so far, almost peeking its head out from the cloud of mediocrity and surveying the Kingdom of Average. Instead, the balance is tipped in favor of a nearly failing grade - the music critic's equivalent of a D minus. I'd still rather listen to Sea of Faces than this, and that ain't saying much.

But wait, there's a silver lining that I almost forgot about! The title track is pretty good. And since the album leads off with that track before embarking on its perilous downhill journey, I guess there's no better place for me to start.

Hearts of the Innocent
Where have the days gone that a promise was forever
Families stuck together
We wonder why their generation struggles to get by
There's no one to help
What can I do to change what I see
This vicious cycle must come to an end...
This song is one of those that takes off running - it's not extremely fast, and the riffs don't blow the listener away or anything, but as straightforward rock songs go, it's to the point, it's convincing, and the language in it doesn't seem nearly as forced as Kutless's usual fare. In that sense, it comes out slightly ahead of "Not What You See", the lead track on Sea of Faces. The band steps up in defense of children who are abused, neglected, given a rather messed-up view of the world by parents and other authority figures who just can't take the time or effort to really care for them and love them. "It feels like knuckles to the back of my head!", cries lead singer Jon Micah Sumrall, not screaming in anguish or anything (like he often does at the most inopportune times), but putting just enough oomph into his delivery that the emotion is easily believed. While he tends to keep things very general in his lyrics, not getting into the specifics that would really give a song like this some extra impact, he actually hits us with a decent clincher when he refers to the "vicious cycle" and helps us to realize that we can't justify doing the same thing to the next generation that the previous generation did to us. If this were the overarching theme to a record that delved into specific instances of such heinous crimes against humanity, and our repentance and healing from such things as Christians, I'd applaud their bravery. Unfortunately, it's just a case of "We liked this song a lot, so we named an album full of unrelated songs after this one.". But at least this is a solid, Christ-like message worth sinking one's teeth into - the last time the band came anywhere near being this convicting (without overemphasizing the guilt trip factor) was "Treason".

Shut Me Out
You may not like all I have to say
But you can't prove that everything is filled with empty words
I know my life and inside how I've changed
A testimony to the truth I speak...
Immediately following the album's best song is its worst. Musically, it ain't so bad - I like the looping, muscular guitar riff and noticeably strong drumming, which actually fits the mood of the song - and there's even a decent guitar solo later on! That's a nice surprise. But the problem is that I've never been a big fan of Christian "fight songs", because more often than not, in railing against the injustice done to Christians, they miss the point that it doesn't help us to vilify non-Christians and view them as our enemies. Jon Micah moans and groans here about someone who is trying to silence him because "I know that you can't stand these things I'm preaching in the streets". His response to this criticism is basically to say "I don't mind putting up with you, and all the things you say, I'm not about to stop, or even change my ways". Setting aside how poorly written those lines are (the "or even change my ways" bit is yet an extremely hackneyed way of extending a line out of desperation for a rhyme - I mean, if you're telling us you're not gonna stop, we can probably assume that not changing your ways is synonymous with that, and the repetition is a lot like saying "It's 3 A.M. in the morning" or something like that), I'm extremely offended by the fact that a Christian is opting for the "just shout louder until the opposition has been silenced method", rather than stopping and thinking about the fact that just maybe, the person that they're trying to evangelize to isn't yet in a position to receive it. Some changing of ways might actually be warranted in such a case. That's not to say that Christians should allow themselves to be intimidated out of spreading the Gospel. I don't mean to justify those who have the desire to take away anyone else's right to share what they believe. But there comes a point where I think you have to respect a person not wanting to hear it. And railing against them as if the person is your enemy... well, to me, that just goes against the whole point of the Gospel. Rather than viewing the rest of the world as annoying idiots to be put up with, I think Christians need to realize that we're just as lost, clueless, and sinful as everyone else until God's grace gets involved. Songs like this don't foster that sort of understanding, which is why I have no choice other than to give this tune a solid F.

Beyond the Surface
All these perfectly fake people push us to insane ideals
They're nothing more than counterfeit images...
Three rocking songs in a row! That's a record for Kutless. There's some nice drumstick clattering during the verses, which makes the percussion really stand out, and a quick perusal of the lyrics reveals some actual imagery being used - "digital mask", "counterfeit images", etc. - which at least shows some semblance of songwriting skill on the band's part. The quick riffing goes a little bit beyond the standard power chords (I don't hate power chords, but relying solely on them can get really tiresome, and it's a bit of a cop-out for rock bands in this day and age), and the song's melody is actually fairly memorable - musically-speaking, this song's got some solid momentum. Unfortunately, a lot of that momentum is deflated by the song's truly crappy chorus, which reduces the lyrical imagery to a very plain declaration than "There's a better way that everything now that you see". Yeah, guys, you keep alluding to better ways, and not changing your ways, and everything else involving "ways", but that's gotta be one of the vaguest words in the English language! Try specifying here. Failing that, at least give us an entertaining guitar solo and a fun, unpredictable ending to the song. Oh wait, they actually did that. Alright boys, decent job.

Smile
There is a joy inside
The love of God is all I know
From which this could originate
With one smile I could see, the faith we share inside
And I know that something's different today...
Well, the good ear candy couldn't have lasted forever, I guess. A mellow electric guitar intro and some light but interesting drumming signal a shift to a softer ballad-type song, and that's not an inherently bad thing, but when Kutless does ballads, they generally make them as beige as possible (a la Three Doors Down). The song is about Jon Micah meeting a woman "on a plane somewhere again" (love their specificity!), and her being able to tell that he is a Christian because he smiles at her. No, really, that's the gist of the entire song - "a smile says it all". Man, that's sure good to know, that Christians are such nice people that we can actually be bothered to smile at strangers, because you know, nobody else in the world ever does that! Those heathens are all a bunch of cruel meanies, but Christians ladies out there, when you meet a guy who smiles at you, that's how you know he's a Christian, and therefore he's perfectly safe and could never, ever hurt you! Alright, I'm exaggerating here, as I really don't think the point of this song is how to get random women to talk to you in public places (Jon Micah is married anyway, so I know this is not that song's intent). It's just so awkwardly written, and the premise of the whole thing is so utterly flawed, that I can't help but laugh at the idiocy. "The conversation presses on", he drones in the second verse, which makes it sound like it must have been more of a chore than something refreshingly different, like the chorus would have us believe. "I think a smile says at all", he tells us with a wink and a nudge to sum up the song. But honestly, I don't think it says jack squat. While it's certainly a good idea to show common courtesy to people, there's a good reason why there's a song proclaiming that "They'll know we are Christians by our love instead of "by our politeness". A smile may well be a starting point, but as far as definite signs of faith go, it ain't exactly the equivalent of drawing a fish in the sand, because duh, anyone can do that much. (I don't know what's more hilarious, how amusingly bad this song is, or the fact that a reviewer for Christianity Today was smoking enough crack to make him compare the vocal approach to that of Jars of Clay. Umm... NO.)

Promise of a Lifetime
I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside, I am comforted...
To the credit of the previous song, it doesn't employ tear-jerking string instruments where one might expect them to be used, but I can't say as much for this song, which is another in a long line of mushy string-soaked ballads that reduce God's love for us to something trite and superficial. The slightly dramatic piano intro leads us to expect something powerful coming, and Jon Micah even employs a surprising contradiction in the line, "I sing a lullaby of pain". But it's all downhill from there, as a quick fix to numb that pain is quickly sought out, instead of daring to look for the purpose of it all. This is the #1 fallacy of Christian music these days - an overall implication that God is there to take away pain and make us feel good, and basically serve as supernatural anesthesia. Who actually cares about learning and maturing, and losing one's life to gain it back? We seem to love the analogy of God as a big supernatural boyfriend with really big arms whose warm, fuzzy embrace makes the rest of the world go away, and sure, there are times when God does protect us from needless pain. But this is an overstatement of the most atrocious kind - it's like we don't care that God might be trying to lovingly teach us something through the pain that humans so often cause to each other, because it's easier to just hide and not have to really think about it.

Winds of Change
So tell me all your dreams
Tell me all your fears and what you're longing for the most
It's not another way that'll end up the same
For it's under my control...
I kind of like the cavernous guitar intro and the moderate pace of this song. It's got a melody (both in terms of the vocals and the guitar riffs) that surprisingly, I find myself humming along to in my head before I realize, Wait, that's a Kutless song - NOT ALLOWED! Hey, I'll give 'em credit, they came up with something memorable here. If played with a little more passion, the chorus to this song would actually remind me of something Anberlin might have come up with, and there are some noticeable electronic effects on the rhythm guitars beneath the jumping notes of the lead. The production does come across as a bit restrained here, and it's because of that that I can't go into full rock-out mode, so I'm not able to completely ignore the lyrics, which are wall-to-wall cliches about being set free from pain (again, ugh) and learning to embrace our dreams and fly. It quotes Isaiah 40, which is a wonderfully inspiring passage about soaring up on the wings of eagles, but it's overused and nothing interesting's being done with it that I haven't heard umpteen times already. "I will give you wings", Jon Micah repeatedly promises, and I guess it's official - God is now doing a cross-promotion with Red Bull.

Somewhere in the Sky
I thank God for our freedom
There's nothing wrong with enjoying things in life
Spread the word that a smile's not beyond us
This is a call to act and seize your day...
Hey, I can appreciate fun, fast, blazing rockers that simply celebrate the joy of having a good day. One of U2's most famous songs is all about having a "beautiful day", so why should I criticize Kutless for writing such a song, especially when the guitars are deftly, quickly played and the drumming is once again solid, and for all intents and purposes, the thing totally rocks? Oh yeah, more bogus lyrics, that's why. If you didn't catch the brilliant flying metaphors in the previous song, you'll get them recycled here as Jon Micah un-articulates the joys of having a really good day. Hey, I'm all for relishing a good mood when one comes my way, but I didn't really need a song to give me permission. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying things in life", he half-speaks and half-grunts during the embarrassing bridge, which kills some otherwise promising low-end riffs with its cheesy mantra, even having the audacity to lead us back into the chorus with that old Jurassic Park (er, I mean Linkin Park) trick of capping off the last word of a line by screaming like a p!ssed-off dinosaur: "This is call to act and seize your DUHAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAUHYYYYY!!!" (That's "day", for those of you who don't speak raptor.)

Mistakes
See these deep and painful scars cutting to the bone
Do you want to look like me, with a broken empty life?
Now listen to history...
Here's another mid-tempo acoustic song, similar in tone to "All of the Words" from the last two albums. (Don't even get me started.) Of course, the strings run rampant again, and the song is way too mild-mannered to really fit in with the rock energy exhibited elsewhere. (Not that a band can't be both mellow and aggressive on the same record, but once you've shown some musical chops, it seems suspicious to back away from them on the slower numbers -as if you can only know how to impress by playing fast.) I guess the acoustic guitar is a welcome change, even if it's just a basic strum. The song is about Jon Micah wanting someone else to learn from his mistakes, but... what mistakes? We all make 'em, and that's fine if we want to use 'em as examples so that others don't repeat our folly. But how helpful is it to tell somebody that when not even a hint of a specific mistake is being offered? It's so vague that the song comes off as a series of unhelpful platitudes. "Take my hand and learn from my heartache", he moans. I'd like to, dude, but you're being about as transparent as a glass of Coca-Cola with a twist of crude oil here.

Push Me Away
Don't try to deceive me by pulling the wool over my eyes
There's nothing wrong with needing help sometimes
What are friendships for?
More mid-tempo blah shows up here - the band tries to rock a little bit during the chorus, but it's your usual, half-hearted, power-chord warm-up exercise. I can admire this song's attempt to convince a person that it's OK to ask for help - too many times, Christians are convinced that it's somehow a sign of weak faith to admit that we have problems and need other people's support or advice, as if God couldn't answer our prayers through those people. It's unfortunate that they tackle a good topic by using just about every cliché in the book. The drums and guitars rev up a little at the end, which is mildly exciting, so minor points for that, but otherwise, yuck.

Changing World
I'm embracing all of my fears
I am watching them turn to delight
The very fears which were gripping my mind
Are now the hands shaping and sculpting my dreams...
Got any coffee? I could use some at this point (or failing that, Red Bull, or heck, even that new Coke with crude oil flavor, just give me some caffeine to get me through this!), as we reach the third slow song in a row, with pretty much the same tempo and rhythm (at least on the last two albums, the band strayed away from 4/4 on occasion). Jon Micah's dragging his words out in that usual way he has where even the simplest sentences sound like his poor brain is really struggling to articulate them (I know that's not really the case, but the guy has really poor vocal delivery - it's all so even, with very little emphasized, so I feel like I'm being lectured to more often than not). I'm not as taken with the piano playing as I briefly was during "Promise of a Lifetime", and again, strings show up to fill in the gaps where the actual band members couldn't be bothered to do anything worth listening to. That's how you dress up a boring song, I guess - throw in stock instrumentation from studio players, or other production tricks. There's a good kernel of a message here about needing to relinquish control, which is the basis for Jon Micah's statement that "There's nothing wrong my changing world", but it's not stated in a way that makes the act of surrender a compelling thing at all. I mean, there's still something wrong with your world, and there will be for the duration of your mortal life - what there's nothing wrong with is the fact that your world is being changed, away from what's comfortable, but in the direction of what God wants for you. I get the point of the song, but it's articulated quite poorly.

Million Dollar Man
Now everything is not what he thought
As guilt reaches in for all of his wring
The profit is worthless when you're alone
The grass isn't greener on this lonely side...
Here's another favorite topic for Christian bands - create a stock rich-man archetype and then knock him down for being lonely and non-religious. Sometimes that can be a lot of fun (see the Supertones' "Little Man"), but for the most part, it's way overused, and really, who's gonna argue? We already know that there are some things money can't buy, and that for everything else, there's Mastercard. Why does this guy, with his stereotypical "cars and rings and everything money can bring", need to even be brought into his imaginary existence? If I were a financially well-off person who actually happened to be a Christian, I'd actually be a bit offended by this stereotype of rich people always being these heathen, lonely, self-centered losers. To the band's credit, they came up with a fairly menacing guitar riff, and some good drum rolls and overall energy, mining 12 Stones territory, with a touch of Pillar during the bridge, where Jon Micah's punctuating scream is actually convincing for a change. The fact that I just compared Kutless favorably to 12 Stones and Pillar is a bit disturbing, but oh well, it is what it is.

Legacy
Do you really want to be just like the very ones you blame
Who take you away from all you should be?
Don't just stand by as if you agree...
Surprisingly, the band closes the record with a fast-paced song instead of a tear-jerking ballad. Thank the heavens. There are more vague allusions to a painful past being escaped, and making something better in the future... well, whoope-dee-doo! I'll give them some credit by saying that the lyrics vaguely come full circle, urging someone not to let life slip by as they repeatedly cast blame at someone else who has hurt them and made them this way, but to learn from it and not repeat the cycle, considering what legacy they will leave for the next generation. As non-specific as it is, it might have worked as a good sum-up song, had the record really focused on this "vicious cycle" theme. There's another sudden ending here, not really a solid way to close out an album, but it's decent just for the song.

I'm actually reviewing the special edition of this album, which has four bonus tracks - acoustic takes on a few of the album's songs. I'll review these briefly, but since it's bonus material, I won't further penalize the band for any of these being annoying or needless additions. (I'll just point that out when they are.)

Shut Me Out (acoustic)
Surprisingly, I'm less annoyed by this one when it's played with acoustic guitars - hearing that opening riff in its glistening acoustic format shows me that this band has slightly more diversity of skill than I gave them credit for. It'd be interesting if they experimented with an acoustic/electric blend on some of their rock songs - since they have two guitarists, it might give them a bit of an edge and enable something other than muddy power chords to stand out more. I hate that I have to hear these moronic lyrics again, but you've already heard my tirade about those, so I'll move on.

Smile (acoustic)
I really didn't need to hear this song again, in any format. It's the exact same thing, minus the mushy production. There is a piano and some sort of a high-strung guitar that adds a little color not seen in the original version, but it's not significant enough to really help the song. They kept the hand-claps that help the rhythm along near the end (a positive aspect of the original that I forgot to mention earlier), but still, it's a repeat of another dumb lyric, so I can't give any extra credit here.

Somewhere in the Sky (acoustic)
This one translates really well to an acoustic setting. I love hearing those acoustic guitars blaze through the various runs and textures here - it's a little trickier to play than Kutless's usual stuff. The bridge sounds even more retarded than it did in the full, electrified version (really, can you imagine that constipated scream against a backdrop of acoustic guitars?), but for those who enjoyed the original, this one's well worth hearing.

Changing World (acoustic)
And we close with one of the album's most boring songs, which most definitely didn't need to be heard twice. They did an acoustic version, but kept the strings, which in my mind defeats the whole purpose of doing something unplugged, if you're just gonna keep the production trick that the original song used to stay afloat. I'd have preferred an acoustic take on the title track, or "Winds of Change", which might have actually added a little more value to this abysmal record.

Well, once again, I've probably managed to tick off a few people who think that because Kutless has a ministry that has helped to lead a lot of people (mostly teens) to convert to Christianity, I shouldn't have any grounds to criticize them. It's a nice enough idea in principle, but you know, a lot of people converted due to the TV ministries of Jimmy Swaggart and Jim & Tammy Bakker in the 80's. Extreme example (Kutless is nowhere near that bad, nor do I think they have such selfish, ego-inflated intentions), but the point is that we, as Christians, have to be able to discern whether the message put out by fellow Christians that is being celebrated as an important message to the church, and to potential new Christians, is actually solid. I think it's sending out a lot of cliches that do more than just simplify the Gospel message - they cripple that message by perpetuating an "Us vs. Them" mentality between Christians and non-Christians, offering platitudes that really say nothing helpful to hurting people, and emasculating the very purpose of God's love. I guess nobody completely gets these things right, but come on, I can't support something this atrociously misguided and still be able to sleep at night. That's my opinion on Kutless, and while I'm at least thankful that they haven't copped any obvious riffs or melodies from any other band this time around (being musically neutral is annoying, but I can't really call it a sin), I'm still going to have to wait and see if their lyrics improve before I'll even come close to being able to endorse the music that they make.

Be sure to tune in next time when I take on the latest release by the similarly insipid Building 429.

ALBUM WORTH:
Hearts of the Innocent $1
Shut Me Out -$1
Beyond the Surface $.50
Smile -$.50
Promise of a Lifetime -$.50
Winds of Change $.50
Somewhere in the Sky $.50
Mistakes -$.50
Push Me Away $.50
Changing World $0
Million Dollar Man $.50
Legacy $.50
TOTAL (Regular Edition): $1.50
Shut Me Out (acoustic) $0
Smile (acoustic) 0
Somewhere in the Sky (acoustic) $.50
Changing World (acoustic) $0
TOTAL (Special Edition): $2

Band Members:
John Micah Sumrall: Vocals
James Mead: Guitar
Ryan Shrout: Guitar
Jeffrey Gilbert: Drums
Dave Leutkenhoelter: Bass

Website: http://www.kutless.com

Recommended: No