Reviewed by Liz Liew

This semi-new release features seven tracks from The Choir's independent 'Kissers And Killers' demo, plus five new songs recorded in the Nashville branch of their Neverland Studios. The overall sound is more aggressive than earlier efforts such as 'Circle Slide' and 'Wide-Eyed Wonder'. Derri's prominent tremelo fuzzy guitar effects provide the underlying thread throughout the album, which often takes precedence over his vocals. Lyricist Steve Hindalong commented, "The songs on 'Speckled Bird' are the same songs except 'Wilderness', which is sort of the odd one. But the rest of them are...twisted love songs... 11 songs that really are cohesive." The opening title track is a cynical tale of love and death drawing on similarities between the two. "Weather Girl" and "Yellow Skies" from 'K&K' were remixed in their new studio. The former pushes the heavy distortion guitar further back in the mix, resulting in clearer vocals. "Yellow Skies" is more grating to the ear and replaces the original guitar breaks with vocal interludes. "Like A Cloud" is a favourite with its trippy, ethereal washes of keyboard, masterful orchestration and tremelo guitar. The 'plugged' version of "Wilderness" (as opposed to the unplugged one on the 'Brow Beat' compilation) is faster, a lot less mellow and, in my opinion, not as effective. Three years is a long time to wait for a label-funded release for fans of these highly rated musicians who are frequently described as the "premier Christian alternative band." Be sure to get a copy.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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