Ben Glover
26 Letters
Word Records
2001

Sure, it seems like there's been a dearth of quality Christian music since 1997, when Rich Mullins went home, PFR went their separate ways, and dc Talk abandoned the formula that made Jesus Freak the single most popular Christian album to date. But with new artists on the horizon and old ones reuniting, things might be starting to improve.

One characteristic of the new vanguard in Christian music is honesty about the struggles in life and faith that many artists ignore, instead insisting all is sugar-sweet happiness and gumdrop holidays once you accept Christ. Ben Glover, whose acoustic rock is very much in the vein of Steven Curtis Chapman, is one such honest soul.

In the title track, Glover expresses one of the most difficult things Christians face: How exactly do we begin to thank our Father for all he's done for us? The English language only allows us 26 letters, and even those are ineffective, says Ben: "On and on I go / With limited descriptive prose / and I give up 'cause I've said it all before."

In 'The man I want to be,' Glover describes how valuable having a godly father is in our formation as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. When you listen to these lyrics, you realize Ben Glover was incredibly fortunate to have such a mentor in his father. The song gives encouragement that's too often held for just one day out of 365.

Musically, there's nothing spectacular here. The songs are well crafted, with standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus brackets, but they're not shallow and saccharine. To me, the best song comes as 'Hope Will Be My Song.' It is a very realistic retelling of the dry periods many Christians in ministry face after time given wholly to God. Without blathering on too much about how important hope is, I'll just close with the bridge: "You shake me / Remind me / That I am a soul who's forgiven and free / When I stand / When I fall / I still will sing."

Overall, it's not the Christian Sgt. Pepper's, but it's so much more real than what has been glutting the market, and our ears, for the past four years. (Adam L.)