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Brave Saint
Saturn Brave Saint Saturn's So Far From Home is one of the most interesting and provocative albums I've heard in a while. Perhaps it's because Brave Saint Saturn isn't bound by the usual responsibilities that hinder artists--namely the need to be successful. Brave Saint Saturn is a side project from three members of Five Iron Frenzy, Reese Roper, Dennis Culp, and Keith Hoerig. Perhaps the fact that their livelihood isn't dependant on the success of Brave Saint Saturn has given them the freedom to be a little more daring and creative. Not to say that Five Iron isn't daring or creative, but Brave Saint Saturn goes farther than most current Christian bands are willing to go, both lyrically and stylistically. The album starts with an odd little prologue that lets you know you're leaving the realm of the expected. This entire project has an obvious space theme, and in a very real sense you are "so far from home." The whole album is centered on electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, with tons of additional sampling, programming, and other instruments, including drums, keyboards, strings, accordions, and turntables. It all combines to give Brave Saint Saturn a very fresh, original sound. This is a far departure from Five Iron Frenzy. On the downside, the keyboards occasionally border on the cheesy, and if you're not used to Roper's voice it will sound a little odd. Roper did the majority of the writing for this project and described it as darker and emotional. The songs address a number of difficult issues, including death, abandonment, AIDS, and more. 'Two-Twenty-Nine' is about the death of Roper's grandmother, and starts with a sound clip of the space shuttle Challenger's countdown and liftoff, and ends with the Dylan Thomas poem 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.' The song is built on a droning drum beat and rises with emotion to the pounding chorus where the electric guitars add to the crescendo. 'Resistor' is about a young woman struggling with her self image: "She thinks that nobody loves her / If she only knew / How much we all have missed her / We are praying for you, my little sister." 'Independence Day' speaks of Roper's break up with his fiance, and 'Fireworks,' sung by Culp (who should sing more often), expresses the beauty of God's creation, showing that not all the songs are darker in nature. One of the more impacting songs on the album, 'Under Bridges,' portrays Jesus as the rejects of our society. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us what we do for the least of these, we do for Him. That includes the drunkards, the prostitutes, the homeless, the criminals, the AIDS patients, the homosexuals--the castaways of society that we'd rather forget. In addition to the passage in Matthew, Roper also cites 1 Corinthians 4:10-13, and I can't help but wonder why this description of the Christian life sounds so far from my own. A number of these songs deal with difficult realities in a way that few, if any, have done before. The album ends with 'Gloria,' expressing the honest, difficult questions. Life isn't always easy, and the Christian life is no exception: "Too weak to wonder / too tired to care / Jesus Christ are you really there?" The song goes on to plead for mercy because that's all we have, and ends giving exceeding glory to God. And never fear, they didn't leave their humor with Five Iron Frenzy. Some of the lighter songs include a cover of Michael W. Smith's 'Rocketown,' and a song I don't know what to make of, the rap-mocking 'Shadow of Def.' There are also a few songs in the space vein, including 'Space Robot 5' and 'Moon Burns Bright.' So Far From Home is one of the best albums I've heard this year, and represents a brave step in Christian music. And it can be more than one small step, it can be a giant leap into the mainstream arena. (Kevin H.) |
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