Covenant Church releases their debut on Integrity Music | Posted August 26, 2012
Pastor Mike Hayes and the Covenant Church of Carrolton, Texas, have been purposeful in their pursuit of God's presence while making sure that they have music for people of different cultures. Their worship team and choir are led by David and Nicole Binion, Colin Edge and Josh Dufrene. They've release Standing, their debut CD on Integrity Music. This is an album for the church choir and worship teams alike.
The title track, "Standing," is a nice mid-tempo song of faith. The song almost has a false start because the lead vocals were a little shaky at the beginning, but it builds to a nice song accented by the horn. The album is not short of fun upbeat songs such as "Faithful" and "We Sing." The latter takes a more youthful approach with the rock-fused music and lyrics: "We join with all creation / We sing worthy, worthy... whooo hooo." The bridge is great and assuring: "We will, we will / praise you forever / nothing could ever / keep us from your love."
"Walls Come Down" serves as an anthem and speaks of God's people crying out to him for change and for those "walls" to fall that hold people back from serving Him. The choir basically takes the lead with David Binion only adding a few ad-libs.
If you have never heard Nicole Binion sing, then you have been missing a voice that is so beautiful that it is almost angelic. Well, angelic maybe a stretch, but she has the type of voice that can bring calm and peace into an atmosphere. So to hear her lead "Taste and See" is a great treat. The lyrics are also a highlight. The song starts off with the verse that says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good / Come and know a shelter in the night / Run and sing of His blazing love / Everyone is dancing in the night." It then builds to a rousing vamp: "See His power, His glory / rising all around / As we sing Holy / He's holy / Can you feel it now?" Amazing!
Though Nicole has does well alone, she works so well with her husband, Edge and Dufrene. "Heaven on Earth" proves that there really is strength in numbers as each worship leader takes their turn ad-libbing without overpowering one another. "Dwell" and "Your Great Love" are two great songs of worship with two different styles. "Dwell" is laid back and more soulful a la Fred Hammond and Radical for Christ and while "Your Great Love" definitely draws inspiration from folk tunes and Twila Paris.
The last and longest song (8:48) on the album is "Nobody Like You" and honestly, I really wish that I was there to witness this firsthand. Thankfully I can listen to it over and over again. It starts off with lovely piano solo with everyone (led by Nicole) singing in unison in a key that was comfortable for even the tenors. The momentum grows until Dufrene takes lead as they declare God's Holiness and sing of His glory filling the place. Please take notice of this song and you will see that it is a fitting end to a good album.
Closing Thoughts:
This is a great album especially when it comes to the slower songs. There are a couple of the praise songs that could have been left off of this release. Yet still, I would recommend adding Standing to your collection.
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