Five albums in, the Barlow sisters are back with Love & War, arguably their most mature and accessible album to date. Keeping their honest and often encouraging spiritual lyrics, the girls stretch their creative wings in the rock and pop formats, to include rockers like "Running Out Of Time" and the theme for anti-fame and celeb gossip "Time For You To Go." Their piano based pop reaches some catchy heights as well on highlights "Our Worlds Collide" (which bears an uncanny resemblance to the piano theme in the classic NES game Super Mario 3?), and the rousing finale "Hello Sunshine." "Tears Fall" is a piano ballad about the tragic losses of life through abortion, while they also expose their vulnerabilities through the single "Beautiful Ending" (which is beautiful indeed), "Sing Me A Love Song," and "Stay With Me" (all highlights as well). While aspects of some of the songs may remind listeners of other artists, BarlowGirl certainly has come into their own on Love & War, offering a solid pop rock effort and one of the standout albums in the genre of 2009.
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BarlowGirl [Love & War]| Posted September 29, 2010
Since releasing their self-titled debut in 2004, Rebecca, Alyssa and Lauren Barlow have continuously inspired fans with such intimate portraits, as with their sophomore set, Another Journal Entry and with such bold challenges as 2007?s How Can We Be Silent. For BarlowGirl the focus is always on sharing what God has placed on their hearts. They continue to do just that with Love & War. According to Becca Barlow: ?I think there are two continuous messages that we are trying to get across on this album: One is that time is short, and we don?t have time to not follow the Lord. We don?t have time to do the things we desire to do. It?s time to be bold and follow the calling God has in your life. The second message is that it?s all about being in love with the Lord and about that relationship with Him. If we don?t have that relationship with Him, we can?t have the boldness.?
The first several songs build on the love and war theme with the upbeat opener ?Come Alive? and the cry to ?wake up, get out there?s no time to waste now,? which really gets to the heart of the matter, including the charge to ?be the change we?ve all been waiting for.? ?Open Heavens? keeps the theme of waking up going with the lyrics ?can you feel the Spirit move you, calling all hearts to wake.? Both songs really grab me and fire me up to stand up for God and for my beliefs. Then, the first single, ?Beautiful Ending,? hit me even harder with the challenging ?it scares me to think that I would choose my life over You, My selfish heart divides me from You, It tears us apart?. The song is beautiful and encourages me to live for God.
?Stay With Me? keeps the theme of love going with the encouragement that ?all I need is Your love pulling me.? ?Our Worlds Collide? is also about love and the girls share how God has filled their hearts with love. The personal nature of the songs really draws me in as I have 3 daughters and want nothing more than for them to know the Love of God. If you are looking for this album?s ?Never Alone,? ?I Need You To Love Me? or ?Here?s My Life,? this is it. ?Love Is Marching? is another call to action with the very convicting lyrics ?so when we breathe our last, can we say we have lived for more and did we live to die for love.?
?Running Out Of Time? brings back the war theme and makes me think about the choices I make and how I spend my time. ?Time For You To Go? is the most rocking song on the album and possibly one of the most challenging songs with the lyrics ?Isn't it nice to know, That the media will sway our votes, cause seriously we've got to see, that they choose what we know, our morals get thrown away, for the next big thing we've got to see.? The song finishes with the bridge reminding us that we?ve got to think for ourselves. ?Sing Me A Love Song? is another personal love song that really paints a picture of BarlowGirl?s spiritual walk with the bridge ?cause You are what I need, all that I want is You with me.? The most challenging song for BarlowGirl to write was ?Tears Fall.? The beautiful ballad focuses on BarlowGirl?s pro-life stance. ?Tears Fall? is extremely moving and is filled with emotion, including the cry ?God forgive us now.? The album ends with ?Hello Sunshine,? which has an upbeat melody and optimistic cry to ?let my eyes see the beauty.?
From the opening song, ?Come Alive,? I was hooked by the theme and catchiness of this album, the best overall album by BarlowGirl in my opinion. From the standout first single, ?Beautiful Ending,? to the gorgeous ?Tears Fall? and the rocking ?Time For You To Go,? this album delivers with BarlowGirl?s signature blend of excellent harmonies and great musicianship. Love & War has been in heavy rotation for me since it released.
Love and War.| Posted February 20, 2011
I've been a big BarlowGirl fan for a while now, and I was pumped when they came out with this new album, "Love and war". I must say, this is definitely their best work.
I LOVE all of the songs on this album, but "Beautiful Ending" and "Tears Fall" really stick out for me. Beautiful Ending has an awesome message, and a beautiful sound. Tears Fall really hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it. The tears definitely started falling. ;) But I love that song, beautiful beautiful sound, glorious lyrics.
Over all, I really love this album. Probably one of my all time favorite's. I HIGHLY recommend it.
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