Freedom Church “Uncharted” Album Review

Prime Cuts: Gravity, Name Above, This is Love

Worship music comes in circles.  In the late 80s into the 90s, worship music was primarily synth-driven where the lush sounds of Don Moen, Marty Nystrom, and Kent Henry used to be normative of what you hear across churches.  Then in a reactionary maneuverer against the AC sound, guitar based rock with heavy percussions and bass seem to be the calling card for a new wave of worship pioneered by Darlene Zschech & Hillsong Worship, Bethel Music, and Jesus Culture.  But the tide seems to change again.  Now the ethereal sounds of keys-driven balladry and EDM-driven beat worship seem to be what's hip again.  Freedom Church belongs to this new swell of worship sounds.  But one listen to this new album reveals that they are not just trend followers.  Rather, they have crafted for themselves a niche that is engaging, refreshing, and in fact, quite revolutionary.

Freedom Church finds its zip code in the United Kingdom where the church was the fruit of Pastor Gary Snowzell step of faith in risking for the Lord.  Ever since the genesis of the church some 30 years ago, the Church now is a tour de force with a formidable worship team to boot.  What is most exciting about this disc is the presence of the album's share of ballads.  "Gravity" which begins the proceedings calls to mind Hillsong Worship's "Broken Vessels" and UNITED's "Oceans."  Featuring a haunting mellifluous sounding female lead over an ethereal-keys driven sounding ballad quipped with lots of suspense-building stops and crescendos, God's grace has never been more dramatically and movingly portrayed. 

Though love has often been the subject of worship songs, not many can situate love within the redemptive work of Christ in such powerful ways as the crescendo-building ballad "This is Love."  Without putting the steely beats of electronica on overdrive, "Not Alone" is sparse, intimate, and so affecting.  While "Name Above" could easily rival UNITED's "Oceans" in terms of the song's vivid drive towards God in our moments of anxieties.  On the propulsive side, "Love Like This" has a stately dance beat that is fetching despite the somehow pedantic lyrics. "Awake" is a creative work of art, here the warm accoutrement of the piano sounds is set against the roar of electronic beats and raving electric guitar riffs. 

Freedom Church's "Uncharted" is indeed at the cutting edge of today's sounds.  If churches are serious about drawing in the younger generation, songs like these need to be at the fore.  Yet, this UK worship team are no crowd followers, they have also added depth, warmth, creativity, and spirituality to worship music that make this CD even more indispensable. 

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