Peter Furler Band - "Sun and Shield" Album Review

Peter Furler's newest album (or rather I should say "The Peter Furler Band's" new album) "Sun and Shield" has just hit the streets, and Furler has certainly taken things in a new direction.
 
When they were saying this was going to be a more "raw" sounding record, I was bracing myself for a letdown just in case. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about. When listening to these songs, you can quickly tell that Furler is definitely showing his continued maturity as an artist.

This collection has a much more "indie" feel, moreso than most of his previous solo album or his work in the Newsboys. More raw and stripped down indeed. Think "adult-contemporary punk".

If you're tired of the dubstep & electronics-heavy sound that is so prevalent today, this album should be a welcome change of pace for you.

This record has lots of vocal and musical/instrumental surprises to keep you humming and tapping your toes with each new track...

Lyrically, it also feels very alive and very fresh. It's chocked full of Furler's patented "encouraging-while-also-challenging" themes, and thankfully these songs don't rely on worn-out lyrical cliches or tired CCM motifs.

Oddly enough, the title track "Sun and Shield" - while a good song and perhaps most friendly to "CCM hit radio", might be the least interesting one on the album.

"Shame", the title to the 4th track, is also a theme that comes up a few times throughout this album, and as you listen to it you can almost feel the resonating reverberations of Newsboys "Not Ashamed" album from so long ago. In a way, it's like Peter Furler's journey coming full circle, if you will.

The track "Yeshua" (which features longtime Christian artist - and Peter's father-in-law - Mylon Le Fevre) starts out in way that you might think it will be just another bland worship song, but it doesn't unfold that way, it's stylishly devout and one of the album's nice surprises.

If we're talking about whole songs, other notably surprising standouts on this album include "Dare I Say", "It's Alright (For Lazarus)" and "The Overcomer"

You can tell these are very personal songs for Peter Furler, though they still retain plenty of catchy melodies, bouncy tempos and satisfyingly swaying melodies - just not necessarily in a "Newsboys" way. In short, songs that are indeed personal, but not what anyone could call depressing. These songs are not a chore to listen to.

For longtime Newsboys fans, you'll be pleased to know that Phil Joel is on this album a lot. So much so that I actually wonder why he's not on the cover as a full-fledged member. In any case, Phil's background vocals are thankfully as good as ever here.
 
"Sun and Shield" as an album feels like a nice cohesive experience, not just a collection of singles. If you were thinking of just checking out one or two songs from this offering, I recommend that you rather get yourself the whole album to enjoy all the songs in their full context. Trust me, the journey will be worth it - it'll make you smile, and maybe even cry. All in all, it feels like a really well-balanced album. 4 out of 5 from me.

"Sun and Shield" marks an intriguing, fresh direction for Furler, and given his penchant for blazing his own trails, I'm very interested to see what Furler comes up with next.

JLA Adventures; Trapped in Time - Quick Review

JLA Adventures; Trapped in Time is a new animated DC film that was released just last week, in what's being called a "stealth release" as nobody seemed to know it was coming until days before it's release. This movie (to this point anyway) seems to be a Target exclusive.

Having seen this new film, I leave you with the following bullet points & review;

• It's called "JLA Adventures" - That's "JL" with an "A" at the end, as in "America". They dropped it for the "Justice League" animated series, and ever since it seems they have been shying away from that "A", but I like it.
• This one is aimed at a slightly younger or "all ages" audience. It's not "kiddie" or "dumb" necessarily, it's just not as "hardcore" as the regular DC animated films of recent years.
• In tone and in look, it's kind of a cool melding of the Superfriends, Young Justice, and Justice League animated series. You get the Lex Luthor led Legion of Doom and some high-flying adventure. You get a look at the future and a little teenage angst with the two Legion of Superheroes characters. You also get the JLA and all their gadgets, tactics, and teamwork to take down the enemy.
• Flash seems particularly similar to his counterpart in the Justice League cartoon. He, along with Robin, are the main source of comic relief.
• If you liked Diedrich Bader as Batman for "Batman; The Brave & The Bold" then you're in for a treat, because he's back as the Dark Knight in this!
• The costumes look great, taking inspiration from the New 52 versions but remaining clean and unique. I thought Robin's new outfit was especially cool.
• In any good time travel story, you have "rules" to deal with concerning paradoxes and potential alternate timelines and stuff. In this movie, they deal with it through a haunting character that is actually the living embodiment of this, acting as sort of a "time lord" (if you Doctor Who fans will forgive the expression). I thought it was a clever and interesting way to approach it.
• I know this is largely aimed at a younger audience with limited attention spans, but it does feel a bit too short. I might have liked another 15 minutes in the second half to fill the story out more.
• The way it ends leaves you with the impression that they want to do more original films in this series/universe.

All in all, it's a mixture of things we've seen before with some fairly cool new stuff as well. If you miss the Justice League or Justice League Unlimited cartoons, this should scratch that itch for a while.

I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Have you seen JLA Adventures; Trapped in Time? Comment below to share your thoughts on it!

"Person of Interest" - The show "Agents of Sheild" wishes it was.

I've been catching "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." since the beginning. With my being a comic fan, that should come as no surprise, and it also shouldn't shock you that we comic fans like to make comparisons between things we watch, read and listen to.

With respect to Agents, I notice myself becoming more disinterested as the show goes on. I start watching the episode and find myself drifting off to the computer or kitchen. I can't help but compare that to the way I feel watching Person of Interest. I wait anxiously for it to come on and I watch intently. I rush back hurriedly to the TV (with snack in hand) when the commerical break ends.

Why don't I feel like this when Agents is on? Well for me at least, I think I can answer that.

In Agents, it's this constant attempt to show you how witty, sexy and flashy it is. The one-liners come fast and furious, the action is big and bold, and the characters are all, like, super-awesome.

Don't get me wrong, there's certainly nothing wrong with one-liners, big action, or awesome characters, but they shouldn't be the point...

Person tells stories about people; It's about ordinary people and yes, extraordinary people as well. It has a plausible yet unmistakably "science fiction" bent to it via "the Machine", but that aspect never overshadows the characters and their interactions. The witty banter and one-liners are used much more sparingly than in Agents, thus have more impact and "punch".

Now I know that the shows each have different purposes in a number of respects, with Agents being in the same universe as the Avengers, it aims to be more fantastical and more bombastic. Unlike Person though, the characters are frankly not that interesting to me. They're each great at their particular thing, but seem to come off as "know-it-all's" and unlikable jerks.

All TV shows, regardless of premise, need interesting characters - first and foremost.

In Person, Reese will beat up a bunch of guys and be on his way. In Agents, Ming Na's character (don't remember her name) will beat up a bunch of guys, default back to her "action stance", and then deliver a snappy come-back.

I will acknowledge at this point that I may have a bias however, as Person of Interest has been described as a show about Batman, only he is split into two people and there are no costumes. While that seems a bit trite, It's not completely off-base, and the fact that it's creator is Jonathan Nolan, brother to Christopher Nolan, has not gone unnoticed by me...
 
Person concerns itself with engaging you in it's characters. Agents too often gets lost within it's own "awesomeness". To put it simply, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. desperately wants you to know it's cool. Person of Interest just is.

In all fairness though, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is young and just getting it's footing, who knows where it could go?

Newsboys - Restart Album Review

Yes, the Newsboys are indeed back with a new album! This one hits the streets tomorrow, September 10th. "Restart" marks the third studio album for Michael Tait, frontman of the band (replacing the iconic Peter Furler) as well as an exploration of some new sounds for the 'Boys.

 
Following the well-received "Born Again" and "God's Not Dead", fans have been anticipating another great batch of Newsboys songs - so how does this new album one stack up? Let's go though the songs one by one...

"That's How You Change the World" immediately hits you with a cool dance drop and a bouncy, throbbing electronic sound, signifying the flavor present in much of the album to come. Initially I felt like "That's How You Change The World" was an indeed an original song, but I was listening to the remix of it. I think this was my reaction to my having not heard the Newsboys really do this type of song before (not counting the 2 remix CDs they've released), but having listened to the song multiple times, I've really gotten into it! Perhaps even better than musical components are the inspiring, thoughtful lyrics - which I won't spoil here, but do carry an insightful message. I'm was more than happy on this song to have my expectations been given a "restart".

"Restart" is an infectiously catchy anthem, and one you could definitely dance to. The "You, You, You hit the Restart" chorus is certainly fun to sing. You can tell they had fun assembling this song with all it's beeps, drops, and echoes. A worthy title song. I hope to eventually get a video game themed music video for this one.

"Love Like I Mean It" has a unique sound and a bit of a new wave influence that helps it stand out a bit from the other songs. It's got a good musical groove to it, complimented nicely by Michael's smooth and silky vocals. The song serves well as a reminder for believers to do more than talk about love, but to live it out in tangible ways, even if it takes us out of our "safe zone". It encourages us to "love with abandon" if you will - which points us to the next song...

"Live With Abandon" is a more conventional song, one which would not feel out of place in the Peter Furler era of the Newsboys. I could see it being used in churches pretty easily. I do think Tait's vocals do elevate this song to a higher level, as do the musical and vocal contributions from Duncan, Jody, and Jeff - I'm sure I'm hearing Jeff's voice in there... It's a good song with a good message - one we should all think about - it's just not an exceptional stand-out song for my tastes.

"Go Glow" is a tune in the tradition of "Shine" and "When The Boys Light Up", exhorting believers to go out into the world and reflect the light of God. It's musically and lyrically reminiscent of Owl City, which I think is actually pretty cool. The chorus goes; "He wakes up the stars, lights the moon, knows who you are, he put light in you... Go Glow" This song, along with "Restart", probably share the title of "most fun song on the album".

"That Home" - Okay, I'll tell you right now, this song made me cry. This piano ballad is a welcome break in the middle of the album. It's a heartfelt song about a mother's love, sung softly and sincerely by Tait. You just have to hear it. Wow

"Disaster" is another good one. It's got a fast beat, but poignant message. It's a cry for God's restoration and mercy when we have inevitably messed up our lives."You're the cure".

"Fishers of Men" is a face paced yet fun song about, well, being Fishers of Men of course.

"One Word" is a more instrumentally driven song, featuring inspiring lyrics about God's power. Not a bad song at all.

"Enemy" could be my favorite of the album. I love the sound, and the message of this song. Each of the band members are allowed to shine - the piano, the guitars, the drums, the melody, the construction of the song - all wonderful! Michael sings the powerful lyrics with passion and honesty. I keep humming this song to myself, it's a real triumph if you ask me.

"We Believe" a fairly standard yet unapologetic praise song, a nice anthem for followers of Christ. Not one you're going to be tapping your toes to, but a great song to build your faith and draw strength from in times of distress. I wouldn't be surprised if this one makes it's way into churches everywhere. The female choir of background singers do border on cheesy - the Newsboys hit "He Reigns" pulled off the choir thing much more successfully, but I don't want strain on this gnat too much.

Final Thoughts - If I had to guess, I'd say the breakout songs from this album will be "Restart", "Live With Abandon", and "Enemy". As usual, each song points unmistakably to the Father, and true to form, they reject being merely "positive pop", and thankfully make no attempt shy away from the name of Jesus.

Once again, Tait's smooth vocals make it seem easy, and he's in fine form here. Duncan Phillips is as good as always, and I'm looking forward to discovering all the neat stuff Jeff Frankenstein got to program and synthesize, with his keys and BG vocals to boot. Jody Davis is also a total pro, though I'm still waiting for a song where they put Jody - a superb vocalist in his own right - front and center on lead vocals; maybe next time.

For years I have wished for a Newsboys album with more of an electronic dance feel to it, and this really scratches that itch. I hope they take some of this electronic flavor with them into the future, even if a more predominantly rock sound (in the vein of "Born Again") is what I think makes sense for the next album.

4 out of 5 stars

Note; "God's Not Dead" had a cool album cover, I wish they had been as creative this time.

Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts on Restart!

P.S. I've now heard the 5 Deluxe Version tracks as well! "Man on Fire" and Mike and the Mechanics cover "The Living Years" are real standouts, awesome stuff!

"Man of Steel" Brings the Fight!

I saw Man of Steel on Friday! I'll simply offer my 5 word review - I really, REALLY liked it!

At first I was put off by many critics' frosty reception to the film - but having now seen it for myself, I don't know what I was worried about!

It appears Superman saw fit to bypass the professional critics as well. If the opening box office is any indication, average people like me are believing in the Man of Steel too.

Am I un-biased? No. Are you? I doubt it. We filter things differently. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for superheroes. I filter movies differently than many critics do, that's for sure. In that sense, they really didn't see the same film I did.

Anyway, I could attempt a point-by-point rebuttal to many of the criticisms pointed towards the film, but that really seems silly. You know what you like and what you don't like. Trying to talk someone into liking a film they didn't like to begin with? Where's the enjoyment in that? Trying to talk someone out of liking a film that they clearly do like? What's the point?

To the Man of Steel devotees and detractors on forums and messageboards - whether you loved it, hated it, or otherwise; the film is 2hrs & 23mins out of your life, please keep it in perspective.

5 Greatest Songs of the 90's

What are the 5 top songs of the 90's? I recently had this question posed to me and I had to think about it for a while. The 90's was an interesting decade for music - in a good way.

If I were to answer this question, I know I would be leaving out some great great music, but off the top of my head - and with the important caveat that I'm listing songs that most people have heard of - here are at least 5 of my favorite songs from the 90's;

5. Fastball's "The Way" is a neat song with a neat story, and it just makes you feel good.

4. Also, a wonderfully singable yet reflective and cathartic song to watch the candle burn out by (surrounded by friends of course) "Closing Time" by Semisonic.

3. Another favorite is Jars of Clay's haunting, driving, also very singable "Flood"

2. How could Haddaway's "What is Love?" not be on the list? Quintessentially early 90's, and irresistible! Try turning this one on and not have your shoulders start to bounce, and your lungs begin to belt out the chorus!

1. Lastly, Smashing Pumpkins' haunting "1979" will always flood me with wonderful and not so wonderful memories. I hardly know any of the lyrics, but the sound of it is indescribable. 1979 sounds so different from any other song I know of.

So what are your 5 Top Songs of the 90's?

"The Big Bang Theory" - 4 Reasons Why I Don't Get The Love

Am I the only one who doesn't get the popularity of The Big Bang Theory? I've tried watching it at various times, I even drew versions of the characters for my Springfield Punx blog - but I don't get the love for it. I just can't get into it. As a whole, it seems... mediocre at best. Yet it's basically the highest rated show on TV!! How can this be?

Here are 4 Reasons for my confusion:

1. Boring Stereotypes. It's one thing that the show has a weird moral ambiguity, but the show also bores me very quickly. Okay. You're nerds. You want buxom girls, but you're socially awkward. We get it! How can this premise have lasted for... what, 6 seasons and counting?!

2. It's Patronizing. I did catch the Wil Wheaton episode, which admittedly was kinda fun; And hey, I'm a comic book fan, I'm supposed to like this show, aren't I? I like seeing the characters wear superhero costumes and I enjoy being able to gaze into the background of the comic store scenes and recognize the comics on the shelf. Unfortunately you can only do that for so long before you start to hear the dialogue! Sure, the show throws a bone to people who want to hear about scientific concepts and sci-fi continuity, but from what I've seen of the show, it largely treats those things as just shorthand for "I am a weird awkward guy and hard to communicate with." Nanu Nanu.

3. That Laughtrack. Now, I certainly understand the sentimentality of holding on to things we've enjoyed in the past, but the laughtrack is one of those things I'm definitely ready to part with - like, yesterday. I've grown up to know what is funny to me and what is not, can we take the nagging, laughtrack-training-wheels off already?!

Besides their cop shows, laughtrack sitcoms are pretty much CBS's bread and butter - and I don't watch any of them. Come to think of it, I watch only one show on CBS, the addictive Person of Interest. Nothing else on the network appeals to me - but CBS sure gets the ratings, so from a business standpoint - more power to 'em, I guess.

4. It's a Mile Long and an Inch Deep. If you enjoy The Big Bang Theory and want to watch it, that's certainly up to you. You might say, "Hey dude, it's just TV. It's probably best not to overthink it." True perhaps, but that's what bugs me most about the show.

Maybe people like The Big Bang Theory because it's "comfortably mediocre". It's easy, MSG flavored fast food for the brain. It's quick, it's not very complex, and it asks little of the audience. As far as I can see, it thinks little of the audience as well.

Even if I were to grant that it was a decently amusing show, is it really so head-and-shoulders above the other prime-time sitcoms on TV? Enough to warrant ratings that leave shows like NBC's Community in the dust? I don't get it.

The First Family is Terrible

Is it just me, or are there a lot of White House themed shows popping up these days?

I was up to an unholy hour last night working on a project and had neglected to pull myself away to get up and change the channel on the TV. A show appeared on my screen that I had never laid eyes on before. By the look of the set and the Fresh-Prince-knock-off music, I could immediately deduce that this was a sitcom, and not a good one.

The show takes place pretty much entirely in the White House, and follows the hi-larious family life of the U.S. President. Beside his being black, the character's movement and style of speech peg him as an obvious Obama analogue - but with a thin goatee to offer a degree of plausible deniability.

 
His family is full of  "colorful characters", including his relatively normal tween-ish children, his I'm-a-strong-woman-and-you're-sure-gonna-know-it wife, and incidentally, Gladys Knight as an overly "urban" live-in grandma or aunt or... something, I don't know.
 
As I hear the back-and-forth dialogue between family members as they pose and pout for the camera, I can't help but think of the classic "Full House". The laugh-track (of course there's a laugh track) is a smidge more obnoxious than it needs to be, and often broke in with a confusing chours of laughs in response to dialogue I could not even identify as an attempt at a joke. I mean literally, the construction of the speech did not contain any discernible allowance for there to be a joke there. Yet there was the laugh track!

Apart from the President of the United States thing, The plotlines seem to be the tried and true sitcom fare. In the one episode, the President is invited by his daughter to "Bring Your Parent to School" day, where a number of her classmates (in an admittedly cute exchange) forgo the typical "what is your favorite color?" inquiries and ask the President some sophisticated questions about the economy and foreign relations - To which he provides the conventional "government-is-the-solution" soundbyte answers (if the previous Obama comparisons weren't enough). In usual sitcom fashion though, the President clumsily reveals to his daughter's classmate that she likes him. The obligatory "I'm angry with you daddy!" and "how could my husband do something so stupid!" scenes ensue. Spoiler - At the end they make up and hug! Wow!

The next episode (yep, they subjected the viewers to 3 episodes of this in a row) presented a dubious moral lesson. There's a reoccurring character in this show, a "comedic" foil to the President character, I think he's a Senator or something? - Forgive me, but it really seems like this character is supposed to be their "Scheming Rich White Republican Guy™" (don't worry, I consider both parties little more than a bunch of schemers) who wants to wiggle his way into the Presidency any way possible.

Anyway, this Senator guy is supposedly a ping pong master and in an attempt to embarrass him, challenges the President to a match, wagering 5 million dollars to the President's choice of charity. The President declines this offer (for a reason I'm not clear on) and after the Senator basically calls him a "chicken", the First Lady gives the President some odd speech about how when they were first dating, he would get so jealous and protective and she missed that "fire in his eyes".

The President is apparently inspired by this speech and agrees to this goofy match which takes place in the Oval Office. You see a zoom-in on the center of the table, with balls zooming past the camera, and then a few quick cuts of each man feverishly waving their paddles. The President wins the match - I guess. The Senator hands over a 5 mil check and that's basically the end.

Overall The First Family comes off like "The Fresh Prince of D.C." It is hilariously awful 100% All-American 1991-dated cheese... and you should see it for yourself if you can.