Bland music can't hold its own
By Nate Seltenrich
MercyMe is an experienced pop-rock outfit from Dallas. "Spoken For," their second record with INO Records and eighth overall, was released Oct. 1.
However, don't expect to catch any videos from MercyMe's latest album on MTV. Copies of "Spoken For" will most likely not be displayed in prominent locations at record stores. And tracks off the album will certainly not enter heavy rotation on any mainstream pop radio station.
That's because, according to their Web site, MercyMe is an "alternative praise and worship band." I guess the term "Christian rock" just doesn't suffice anymore.
No matter what you call their genre, it's largely the lyrical content of MercyMe's music that differentiates them from many other more popular rock/alternative acts. Think Matchbox 20 meets mass.
Contrary to my assessment of their talent, the band has actually received a considerable amount of praise within the Christian music community as of late. Their last album, "Almost There," contained a track called "I Can Only Imagine" that won song-of-the-year honors from the Gospel Music Association. In addition, frontman Bart Millard was named top songwriter by the same agency.
Such critical acclaim certainly does not appear to be justified by their latest effort. Musically, "Spoken For" isn't worth a dime. Vocals are nothing special, and gradually become tiring as the album winds down. The music follows the same pattern - it starts out as tolerable generic pop rock, but gradually fades to unbearable and boring pop slop.
Instrumentation ranges from traditional rock fare - drums, bass, guitar and keyboard, as in "The Change Inside of Me" - to solely violins and pianos, such as in the subdued "Word of God Speak." The band stays strictly within this range, offering no innovation or experimentation.
The album's main weakness is that the message takes precedence over the medium. The medium is weak and the message thus becomes overbearing. It's like tone-deaf nuns singing the lessons to Sunday school. C-