The Music Spectrum Notebook Series digs into my handwritten notes and reviews on older releases still getting my attention as 2010 comes to a close.
When the Choir released their first new album in five years, I was eager to hear Burning Like the Midnight Sun. Unfortunately, first impressions left the album off my radar screen since it didn’t feel as if the folk-influenced rockers were breaking any new ground. Oh, the opening guitar chimes of “Midnight Sun” recall the band’s signature sound alright—electric punctuation over an acoustic-like base, atmospherics developing a stratospheric sensation even while the vocals retain a singer/songwriter vibe. We wouldn’t have Jars of Clay’s combination of elements without the Choir.
That said, the Choir made a very good choice in also releasing De-plumed in 2010, an album of acoustic reworkings of twelve fan favorites—one song from each of their previous albums. Stripped back guitars and bare percussion let the folk sound flow while cello help from Matt Slocum (Sixpence None The Richer) kept the stratospherics usually brought on by that electric guitar sound. What could have been a challenge—revisiting recordings and stripping them of the electric sounds that made them classics—is met by letting the songs speak in these new arrangements. The acoustic guitars actually recall the Church at times, especially on “A Sentimental Song.”
