Artist:
Title:
Afterglow
Type:
Album
Released:
18 Apr 2011 (US), 11 Apr 2011 (UK)
LTTM Rating:
Your Rating:
Review
Altarmotive started off like most garage bands do, mates together at the age of 15 playing songs they love, doing a few local gigs and starting to pen songs together. The band are now ready to release their latest album Afterglow after the band members decided to do an album that was different from any other Christian band they had heard. They enlisted indie rock legends, Jim Ward (At the Drive-In, Sparta and Sleepercar) and Gabe Gonzalez (Sparta and Sleepercar) to help them shape their sound. So does this worship album have a different sound to a lot of worship...
Read More Altarmotive started off like most garage bands do, mates together at the age of 15 playing songs they love, doing a few local gigs and starting to pen songs together. The band are now ready to release their latest album Afterglow after the band members decided to do an album that was different from any other Christian band they had heard. They enlisted indie rock legends, Jim Ward (At the Drive-In, Sparta and Sleepercar) and Gabe Gonzalez (Sparta and Sleepercar) to help them shape their sound. So does this worship album have a different sound to a lot of worship albums that have been released in the last few years?
Using a word like 'worship' in a review might give you a preconceived idea of what the album might sound like: acoustic rock with the sound of Tim Hughes or Chris Tomlin. If you are thinking of those two artists, you would be wrong. This album tends to be more raw and indie than that. Opening tracks Light Of The World (not a cover of the Tim Hughes classic) and Want You To Know have a Stereophonics sound to them. If you know some of the later Stereophonics albums this might help to give you an idea of the sound.
Most of the songs on the album are lyrically about God being the center of our lives and working within us. This is prominent in songs like Here I Am and What A Love, the band sing "Here I am living for Your name, to glorify the King with everything I am" and "Here I am Love have your way in me, use me for You let all people see, that you are the Son, the Son of God". The songs are lyrically more suited to people who already know God and want to worship him.
The opening tracks do tend to be a bit more energetic, but the album takes a softer approach on tracks like The Spirit And The Bride, which has a bit of a pop feel to it. Altarmotive sing "He'll come with the clouds and we'll see Him, glowing and covered in white, Trumpets will sound, heaven shakes the ground". You don't tend to hear songs about the second coming, but this is one and not a bad song either. The soft ballad style songs soon move on with the Muse-esq rocking track Kingdom Come and the dweeb sounding synth worked Shout Out. These are both very good songs and easily make it into my standout tracks. On this album the songs that stood out most for me are the faster more indie type of songs. These guys know how to put a melody together to make a quality song.
If you like your music swift and energetic, with great drums and riffs, similar to what the Bosh lads are doing with a very raw indie feel, Altarmotive and their new album Afterglow might be for you.
Review by Jono Davies
LTTM Rating 3.5 Out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
Kingdom Come
Shout Out
Here To Stay Articles
The Texas based alternative rockers Altarmotive recently released their new album 'Afterglow'. But as LTTM discovered when we chatted to them, there's more to this band than first meets the eye. Read on to find out more! For…
