The UK & Ireland contingent of the Vineyard Worship family are releasing their first body of work in a while, a 7-track EP titled ‘Room At The Table’. The EP came out of a writing retreat that happened in late 2021, capturing the wonder of being reunited after two years of global unrest, but also deep vulnerability and honesty as the songwriters involved got to open up to each other again. The first track is ‘Awaken Us,’ recently released as the lead single. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but the melody sounded very familiar, as if very similar to another song. Led by Bernie Ditima, the song is a call to God to ‘Awaken Us’ and to set our hearts on fire. The title track is quite pedestrian in style, but the pace picks up again, with ‘Thanks & Praise.’ Perhaps I’m not on the same page as Vineyard Worship, as I found songs like ‘Christ Above Me’ and ‘The God You Truly Are’ to be completely boring and unimaginative. A third listen to the EP only confirmed my initial feelings. Despite Jodie Alexander-Frye’s sweet vocals on ‘Catch Your Breath,’ I found myself unable to give this more than 4/10.
Nashville-based band Local Sound introduce their debut album ‘This Is My Local’. After many prolific years of singles and EP releases, Local Sound explore new horizons with their first full length record, one that unveils more of their heart for Christ-centred communities. Born from a house church movement in Tennessee’s capital, Local Sound seek to create culture through highly energetic and innovative music that reaches society. ‘This Is My Local’ captures the essence of what the Lord is doing among this group of people, as one of the band’s members, Alexis Butcher, shares: “This album is full of prayers, stories, and the personality of different church members, as well as struggles we’ve walked through together in the last few years.” The personal and contextual stories that brought Local Sound’s new album to life don’t make it irrelevant, but wholly relatable. The ten tracks on ‘This Is My Local’ are full of truth delivered on fresh melodies that ride the spectrum of emotions. From more mellow tracks like ‘Through The Night’ and ‘On Christ’ making space for vulnerability, to lively songs like the album opener ‘To The King’, Local Sound bring an array of worship flavors from their various backgrounds making the album a “little piece of us for Jesus,” as Alexis notes.‘This Is My Local’ boldly and creatively encapsulates the band’s vision for Church –be it in homes or more traditional settings –to lift a beautiful aroma of praise to the heavens and ignite renewed faith in the Lord. With their debut album, Local Sound are eager to share what they have learned about worship and loving Jesus.
The UK & Ireland contingent of the Vineyard Worship family are releasing their first body of work in a while, a 7-track EP titled ‘Room At The Table’. After setting the scene with first single ‘Awaken Us’ and the project’s title track as a second offering, Vineyard Worship now introduce their new record high in various flavours and colours. ‘Room At The Table’ came out of a writing retreat that happened in late 2021, capturing the wonder of being reunited after two years of global unrest, but also deep vulnerability and honesty as the songwriters involved got to open up to each other again. This EP emerged from friendships and collaboration, highlighting the fruit of the Vineyard Worship and Integrity Music partnership over the last few years with features such as Lucy Grimble, Nathan Jess, Marc James, and Rich Dicas from Integrity Music as well as Vineyard Worship leaders Olu Meduoye, Jonny Riggs, Harmony Smith, Jodie Alexander-Frye among others. As it is diverse in contribution, ‘Room At The Table’ also can’t be encapsulated in one theme, but its “patchwork project” feel gives it a unique wealth of resources for worship leaders and listeners alike. Whether one is looking for a Sabbath lullaby such as ‘Catch Your Breath’, or a song to gather together like ‘Thanks And Praise’, the new EP covers broad horizons in the worship sphere. Produced by Rich Dicas, the latest Vineyard Worship project includes songs that are Scripture-filled, modern Psalms, songs of declaration, confession, and communion – with God and one another – as well as melodies that call us to worship with passion and humility alike. ‘Room At The Table’ is an all-encompassing project that was worth waiting for.
German band Urban Life Worship continue with their “Worship Song Series” – a project covering some of the biggest worship songs into German. Their third single, ‘Anker’, is their version of Hillsong Worship’s ‘Anchor’.
Never for Nothing 