The name of Joseph Habedank will be one which is familiar with fans of Southern Gospel (hereafter SG) as he’s been a solo artist favourite on this scene for a number of years now; consistently winning SG Artist of the Year since 2017. Change Is Coming follows on from Joseph’s 2019 album release “Deeper Oceans” which was nominated for SG Album of the Year at the Dove Awards as well as a 2nd Grammy nomination. His style is probably best described as progressive with more of a contemporary pop feel to many of his releases. That being said though, the SG roots are certainly not lost in the mix with strong flavours evident in the style of delivery. ‘Thief in the Night’ is the opening number which immediately hints at the artist’s SG foundations with some impressive harmonies with a refrain asking “Are you ready?” in reference to Christ’s second coming. The song moves on in a more pop/rock oriented style, reminiscent of some late 80s/early 90s rock with Joseph displaying an impressive vocal range. Put these styles together with a very full musical arrangement and the results are very polished but for me, sounded too much like a Disney film soundtrack. The title track ‘Change is Coming’ is an upper mid-tempo track and possibly the album’s most pleasing track to fans of the genre in the subject matter as well as the musical arrangements. ‘Religion Isn’t Working’ winds the pace right back as a piano-led ballad with some excellent and powerful lyrics speaking about the deep desire for a personal relationship with Jesus as opposed to organised religion. The song builds towards the mid-section with a more rousing chorus which works well and there are of course the distinctive warbles of a Hammond organ in the background which one might associate with more traditional SG. ‘Jerico’ picks up the pace again with the pop/rock feel to it which I felt was the strongest track on the album with a strong drum beat, building the song nicely into an energetic declaration in the chorus. Certainly not one which would please the traditionalists but the most likely to make it onto my own playlist! ’24 Hours’ drops the pace again as a piano-led ballad which sounds like a very personal story of overcoming addiction. The orchestral arrangements can occasionally be a bit too much in the foreground, giving the song a hint of ‘film score’. ‘Child of the King’ was a tad samey and felt a little bland with neither music nor lyrics having a great impact. The ballad ‘Judas’ has some impactful lyrics focusing on the far-reaching grace of Jesus but again, the musical arrangements weren’t anything outstanding. The remaining tracks ‘Rebel With a Cause’, ‘Not Far From Home’ and ‘Rise Above Eden’ are not bad tracks at all but I’m afraid fall into the same trap which many progressive SG songs do…they all sound a touch generic. There is no doubting Joseph’s vocal gifts and he has a great range with smooth delivery. A couple of the stronger tracks may make it onto my personal playlist but as a whole album package, this one is not for me as it lacks some distinction to make it stand out. 7/10 Simon Redfern.
Never for Nothing 