My Review, A Little Late: David Crowder Band - Remedy
I love The David Crowder Band. I love pretty much everything they do. They are the most innovative band operating in the Christian ghetto wing of the music industry these days, and probably rank up there in the wider world of the music industry as well.
I haven’t ranted and raved about the new album yet because I was looking for a way to describe my general “meh” reaction to this album. Then I read something in Christian Music Today that made it click for me:
“Whereas A Collision was epic and almost unwieldy in album length (as well as length of song titles), Remedy seems downright tame with just 10 songs (of which the longest title is a familiar hymn). The sound incorporates all the band elements—acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, programming, DJ turntables, and violin—without shifting wildly between genres like before. Leave it to David Crowder Band to simplify their process and make it seem like a progression by offering their most accessible album since Can You Hear Us? in 2002.”
Basically this is a really really nice way of saying that the album, while really good, and while better than anything else out there currently, is not as good as Illuminate, A Collision, or any of their other stuff in between.
All that to say it is definitely still worth getting, there are good songs on there. The Nuge plays on a track in it. But it’s not their best work.
Buy this album.
I completely agree. It sounds very similar to Illuminate in my opinion. They have some good hooks and climaxes in Remedy, but they didn’t really evolve their sound at all. A Collision was incredible in terms of inventing music and evolving as a band, but Remedy sounds like they could have released it in between Illuminate and Collision.
But like you said, it’s still great stuff and leaps and bounds beyond most other bands in CCM.
I still say Illuminate is the best album they’ve done, hands down. But, seriously, where, as a band, do you go after Collision? They almost had to do this album.
After listening to Remedy, I will admit that it is maybe not as exciting to listen to as Illuminate or A Collision, and also not as exciting to play for the avid musician-fan of DCB. However, Remedy gets back to the simple, heart-felt worship of some of the bands older music. Less difficult lyrics and syncopated rhytmns will make these songs easier to sing along with and will make great corporate worship choices.