Passion Worship “Salvation’s Tide is Rising” Album Review

Prime Cuts:  God and God Alone (Chris Tomlin), I Turn to Christ (Matt Redman), Your Grace Amazes Me (Christy Nockels)

Passion Worship's new album may be titled Salvation's Tide is Rising, but they are holding a lot of things at bay with this album.  While their last couple of albums all boast at least 18 songs each, this new collection only consists of a mere 10.  While their preceding albums were recordings taped from their highly charged live conferences where the worship leaders were surrounded by a wall of at least 30,000 voices, this time "Salvation's Tide" is a studio affair.  While their previous products showcases lots of "outside" help from Hillsong UNITED, Kari Jobe, Charlie Hall,and others,  this endeavour is more in-house. It features mostly their regular worship leaders including Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman, Crowder, Christy Nockels and others. But this doesn't mean that this album is of a lesser fare.  Rather, after a few listens, less is definitely more here.

Passion Worship is the team responsible for providing the soundtrack for the annual Passion Conference helmed by author and pastor Louie Giglio.  Each year, this conference brings together 30,000 to 40,000 students from over 1,500 universities and colleges for a three day event of worship and celebration.  Salvation's Tide is Rising is released just in time for this year's conference that features speakers such as Giglio, John Piper, Ravi Zacharias, and others.  This disc itself presents 9 newly written worship songs plus Kristian Stanfill's cover of HouseFire's "Good Good Father."  Speaking of Stanfill, he opens up the album with the anthemic title cut "Salvation's Tide is Rising."  With grunting blasts of electric guitar over a bombastic blow-up chorus with lots of synth riffs, "Salvation's Tide" is a clarion call for God to break down the walls of our sinful rebellion and do his work of revival.  In our climate of spiritual lethargy, this song is indeed prophetic.

While the title cut "Salvation's Tide" may be an operatic blowout, Melodie Malone's "Simple Pursuit" drops into an almost acapella stroll.  Hauntingly powerful calling to mind Francis Thompson's famous poem "The Hound of Heaven," God's relentless pursuit of us gets a raw and lacerating exposition. Matt Redman, as expected, doesn't disappoint.  However, this time, he only gets to contribute one song and it's easily one of the album's best.  "I Turn to Christ" bears all the signature imprints of Redman's ballads with its cinematic build-ups and the song's Christ-centered lyrics.  Christy Nockels' "Your Grace Amazes Me" is this record's big ballad matched with her big voice flavoured with a ceremonial noir calling to mind Nockels' "My Anchor." 

Chris Tomlin's "God and God Alone" is congregationally focused with a totally captivating bridge; this song is destined to be a worship favorite in no time.  In a glossy over-the-top roar of stadium-like worship music, Crowder gives some recess.  Withdrawing us into a more organic way of worshipping, they offer a Rend Collective-like folk-pop worship to "My Victory" and "All We Sinners."  After Chris Tomlin, Zealand Worship, and Casting Crowns, have all tackled HouseFires' "Good Good Father," Kristian Stanfill adds nothing new to the song.  Though there are fewer songs on Salvation's Tide is Rising than their previous albums, the songs here are tighter, more focused, and more inviting as far as congregational worship is concerned. 

 

 

Tags : passion worship passion conference Louie Giglio salvation's tide is rising passion salvation's tide is rising passion review passion album review passion worship salvation's tide is rising album review Chris Tomlin Matt Redman Christy Nockels Crowder krisian stanfill melodie malone