Music Spectrum

I would love to program the music offerings for a football stadium, you know the moments at a college game when the marching band isn’t playing. Over the speakers would come to most awesome mix of jams to keep the mojo working in favor of a rocking experience.

Of course, I would only last about one quarter since I would only program a obscure, indie, and eclectic mix, so that most people would be left scratching their heads instead of yelling, “Play it, DJ!”

That’s my thought process today as I listened to the Cat Empire’s “Falling” from their album, Cinema, thinking that the turntable-scratching, ska-horned tune would make a perfect pre-game anthem as the October sun warms up the stadium and the crowd. I can see a crowd waving their hands to the chorus with a little hand-wagging to signal that the Cat Empire definitely brings the beat. The Tijuana-jazz horn and percussion bridge would signal that this party’s about to begin, the kickoff’s coming soon.

The Cat Empire play a mean version of eclecticism, borrowing from lots of places to deliver a party band rock that gets its hooks in you. Fat keyboards and tambourines really bring out the shaking hips for “Waiting.” “Only Light” reverberates like “Riders on the Storm” punched up with a dance beat. Jazz-influenced keys bounce “All Hell” for an R&B swagger. “Feelings Gone” walks in with a Cracker-like riff followed by a pop rock base. Overall, though, it feels as if they have taken the attitude and beat of ska and placed it in a dance rock vibe.

The Cat Empire
Velour Music Group

Track 1, “Moving On,” begins with an R.E.M.-like guitar line. Track 2, “Down,” begins with an R.E.M.-like organ line (Automatic for the People era). Track 3, “Five Minutes,” introduces itself almost like a Jimmy Eat World emo guitar riff. Track 4, “Hold on to me,” is back to an R.E.M.-type guitar line. Track 5, “Until morning,” builds up from a bass line like something by the Cure.

With these touch points—and others—that begin each track of Anthem In’s self-titled debut, the band launches each song in a rock ‘n’ roll fashion before heading toward the real sound: club rock with a few strains of goth black. It’s darkly haunting, dance floor head banging, intricately infectious rhythm flashing.

“Down” has a great verse structure—pausing for each line sung by Allen Orr punctuated by smash, 1-2-3 headbangs. The song pulls you onto the dance floor even as the chorus pleads, “Baby, take me out onto the dance floor,” although it also is a wallflower’s wondering in the verse, “How come everybody, how come everybody gets down/On the dance floor but I can’t even hear a sound/Through the noise and through the clatter in my head?”

It’s why I often dance alone at home when I don’t have to worry about anyone else and the chatter in my mind yields to the music. But Anthem In could get me out on that dance floor with songs like this.

Anthem In
Quiet/Loud Records

When Mark Stuart screams, “I’m a warrior,” over a stunted guitar to begin “Until My Heart Caves In” on Audio Adrenaline’s album of the same name, his voice sounds like a wounded warrior. Stuart has regularly sounded scraggly and gravely since the early pseudo-pop albums, but you can almost see the tears on those vocal chords when you look at your stereo speaker.

As the song kicks in with a Who-like guitar/drum fill repetition, it leads to the lyric, “I will sing Your Name until my heart caves in.” Stuart is clearly a faith warrior, singing praises to Christ while raising the eyes of the crowds to see the Savior. Stuart is managing to maintain his voice in the face of rock ‘n’ roll-induced hoarseness. I have no doubt that he will continue to offer his screams, shouts, and rock growls until the very last.

However, youngster Tyler Burkum (guitars, keyboards) takes over the lead vocals on many tracks, utilizing his clear-throated charm to raise up the praise choruses. Stuart jumps in to thrash out the sound, such as on “King” which could easily become just another CCM anthem if Stuart didn’t add that Audio Adrenaline element in his shouts.

And there’s the problem. Audio Adrenaline is still here doing their thing, but that thing is dangerously close to being smoothed over. Burkum is a great singer, but he’s not Stuart. Stuart’s rap-sing, thrashy, skate punk charm combined with worshipful intuition has always made Audio Adrenaline just different enough from the rest of the Christian rockers. How will Audio Adrenaline maintain that which makes them Audio Adrenaline as Stuart clearly finds himself shaking the tambourine more than checking on the mic?

I didn’t watch Rock Star: INXS as they did an American Idol-like search for a new lead singer for INXS to replace Michael Hutchence. I’m not convinced that filling the spot with a reality-TV-winning-contestant really means that INXS is continuing. The name is there, but is that the same?

To me, Van Halen meant Eddie Van Halen shredded his guitar while David Lee Roth prowled in front of the video cameras. I never really was convinced that Van Halen was Van Halen with Sammy Hagar or whoever else there’s been.

Unless there’s therapy, surgery, or a miracle that saves Stuart’s voice, Audio Adrenaline will have to decide whether they can continue to be Audio Adrenaline without that voice. If they decide they can, they will have to pull away from Until My Heart Caves In, get Burkum to funk up his delivery, and jam again on catchy, slightly-quirky rock. If they decide they can’t continue to be Audio Adrenaline, let’s just hope they don’t decide to signify the change by officially going as Audio A or A Adrenaline or Sonic Adrenaline (such as Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship, etc.).

For glimmers of the old, full force of Audio Adrenaline, check out the funk dance rhythm combined with anthemic charge on “Undefeated.” The harmonica is a nice touch on “Melody (Lost Inside the Wonder).” The smashing blasts that enter the scene on “Are You Ready for Love?” could power those crowd spotlights that reveal a moshing crowd. Continuing their nods to Classic Rock co-opted for the Gospel, the band cranks out “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher.”

Until My Heart Caves In by Audio Adrenaline is released by Forefront Records.

There seem to be few secular parallels to a band that leads worship songs and plays a concert for a weekend Christian conference. I’ve seen Fusebox do this twice this summer—once for the Wisconsin Statewide High School Youth Gathering and once for the National Youth Workers Conference (both Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod events). The only parallel that comes to mind are some of the music cruises where a band will play on multiple nights during a sailing, the fans getting to know the band perhaps a little more intimately. That’s the opportunity that Christian conferences offer when there’s a gathering band as a part of each general session. The band creates and reflects the community atmosphere.

Fusebox lives up to this unique role, at once calling participants to join in the worship songs while also infusing their personality into the gathering. Fusebox is able to encourage everyone to sing and dance without guilting you into it or making the crowd participation more of the experience than the music.

The muscly guitare riff groove on “Let It Rise” is a good indication of what Fusebox can do to a simple worship song. They add the incredible emotion and energy of hard rock while also still leading a praise song. Guy Roberts’ drum fills really pull more out from what otherwise would be a straight-forward and rather unremarkable song. “God is Great” becomes a funky dance, headbanging worship song. “Thank You” takes a huge wall of sound and breaks down into a crowd sing-along.

The NYWC featured a few extra treats like Monique Nunes singing together with lead vocalist/bassist Billy Buchanan on “Look What You’ve Done” and “Light the Fire”—Gospel soloing over a tight hard-rocking band. Also, Buchanan let loose with a full soulful delivery on “I Will Exalt” over Ben Rodriguez’s jazzy acoustic guitar (think Norah Jones’ supporting band).

“You Are So Beautiful” takes a truly sappy, feathered-hair song, and makes it a hip, edgy picture of devotion to Christ. Fusebox members attribute the arrangements to Buchanan, but each member adds their pieces to make a very good whole. Fusebox brings the blues to Christian praise music which is a good partnership of the raw emotion of the blues and the raw truth of the Gospel. “Look What You’ve Done” has a psychedelic blues wash. “Hello” also finds the blues, although it needs a little more blues in the talky bits, perhaps more like Eddie Turner does. Chris Tomlin’s “Forever” in their hands has a crunchy, bluesy guitar line.

Buchanan joked about being a Chris Tomlin cover band. In deference to the NYWC theme of country and Nashville, Fusebox worked up a cover of “Achy Breaky Heart.” It would be a far better thing for Fusebox to be a Tomlin cover band. I don’t think the country song will be repeated. However, more than covers, we should anticipate more of what this band can write themselves, speaking praises to God from the crunch of rock and life.

Thanks to Fusebox for their assistance.