1. O Come Let Us Adore Him
2. Born Is The King (it's Christmas)
3. Joy To The World
4. Emmanuel
5. O Holy Night
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (tidings)
7. We Have A Saviour
8. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
9. Unto Us
10. (gloria) Angels We Have Heard On High
11. Our King Has Come
12. The First Noel (holy Is The Lord)
Christmas time means different things for different people. Of course it's about the birth of Jesus, the Saviour Of The World. But it's also a great time to sit back and remember the year, loved ones and reflect on what God has done for us.
It seems like Christmas tradition is a thing we don't fight, but actually enjoy and embrace. One tradition that seems to be getting bigger is the fact that more and more Christian artists are now releasing Christmas albums.
Hillsong have released their latest offering for the Christmas market, with the release of 'We Have A Saviour' which... Read More Christmas time means different things for different people. Of course it's about the birth of Jesus, the Saviour Of The World. But it's also a great time to sit back and remember the year, loved ones and reflect on what God has done for us.
It seems like Christmas tradition is a thing we don't fight, but actually enjoy and embrace. One tradition that seems to be getting bigger is the fact that more and more Christian artists are now releasing Christmas albums.
Hillsong have released their latest offering for the Christmas market, with the release of 'We Have A Saviour' which is jammed packed with well known Christmas tunes and some original ones too.
If you're looking for a track that sounds like mainstream rock band Arcade Fire doing a Christmas album, then check out opening track O Come Let Us Adore Him. The band use an array of different instruments to create a wall of noise, with this version of the Christmas classic which moves far away from the more traditional original version. It might not be to everyone's liking, but I really enjoyed this version.
We then move onto a Mumford & Sons sounding version of 'Joy To The World'. The banjo kick starts this one and really adds to the folk rock sound that is so popular. If anything, the song's tempo is slower than you might expect, and I feel this song does drag a little bit. Maybe this is because we are used to the original so much, I don't know, but what this song is more than anything is a beautiful heartfelt number.
What I'm finding a little bit odd with this release is that many of the tracks also appeared on last year's Hillsong Christmas release, 'Born Is The King'. If you purchased this album without looking at what tracks were on it, you might feel a little bit hard done by. But it is nice to hear this happy go lucky title track again on this album. It's a good original track, that doesn't sound overly Christmassy, but is a great song about what God has done for us with the birth of Jesus on Christmas day.
As the album moves on we head to the beautiful track Emmanuel. This is one amazing song which is sung so beautifully that you can easily just get lost in the soothing vocals. A real spine tingling moment and the way the melody rolls through the music is so heart warming. The same could be said for 'O Holy Night', musically this track is very simple with only one guitar playing, but still sounding so big. The simple guitar coincides with a great vocalist that again sounds amazing - another track that gets the goosebumps appearing on your arm.
I know it sounds strange to say but Hark The Herald Angels Sing is the most Christmas sounding song on the album. Hillsong have tried to make so many tracks on the album sound uber cool, which means some traditional songs don't sound as Christmasy as you might expect. Now some people will love it, but there is a bit of a traditionalist inside me who thinks sometimes I want that over unoriginal Christmas cheesy sound coming out of an album, it just makes me feel very nostalgic.
Overall this is another great album from Hillsong, and you wouldn't expect anything less from them. If you had last years album you might want to check this one out in a bit more depth before spending your cash. But I did like the majority of the songs on this album.
Review by Jono Davies
LTTM Rating 4 Out of 5 Stars Standout Tracks God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Born Is The King
Emmanuel
