The Monday Mojo – “Heaven & Earth”

Jaydubbs — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:06 +0000

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

Phil Wickham has been challenging the boundaries of the modern worship sound for the past few years. His sophomore debut Cannons brought his great melodic soundscapes and soaring vocals to the attention of the church, mostly led by the title track of the same name, which was more often than not on most churches Sunday set lists.

But, Phil has raised the notch even higher with his latest debut Heaven & Earth. It’s been quite a while since I remember a modern worship album really stretching the limits when it comes to musicality and pure originality. And that’s just what I experience when listening to this project.

I can’t get enough. It’s seriously been playing in my car for the past 2 weeks straight.

Sure there are noticeable influences, including the fellas from Muse and The Killers on the synth-heavy “Hold On”, and wonderful nods to the likings of Sigur Ros on the ambient beginnings of “Cielo”. But Phil presses into new grounds on most of Heaven & Earth.

Right now, you can visit his site here and purchase a special promotional package. For only $25, you receive an immediate digital download of the Heaven & Earth album (the actual album doesn’t come out until November 17th), a special acoustic version of the album not available anywhere else, an autographed Heaven & Earth album mailed to you in November, and an exclusive Heaven & Earth t-shirt.

Pretty sweet deal. Once you got the album in hand, check out tracks “Coming Alive”, “Heaven & Earth”, “Hold On” and “Cielo”. These 4 are my favorites, but the whole album is without a skippable song. “The Time Is Now” is another catchy track with creative Bonanza-esque strings during the outro. And Phil wraps up the record with a beautiful, broken down tune of hope in “Heaven Song”.

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The Monday Mojo – “Heaven & Earth”