Review
The unusually named four piece guitar band, 'Steve' start their music careers off with the album 'Falling Down'. The band have been together for four years and have been touring at many different Christian events and festivals in Europe and have already made an impact on the UK mainstream music scene. From this you might expect them to be quite good, and you're not wrong. As usual for a four piece guitar band, they play mostly rock songs, but Steve show a range of styles from hard rock twisters ('My Ever My All', 'Hunger') to more gentle pop tunes ('I'm Here', 'Smile'), never losing a worshipful aspect throughout.
The album features many flowing rock songs, the type of style which is great to listen to in your car especially on long journeys, starting with the first track 'Zealous Core'. This song has an interesting rhythm using a high pitched guitar melody overlaying the moving distorted guitar backing track and great vocals which are a feature throughout this album, as they match the songs so well. The song is the oldest track on the album and one of the best. It was inspired by Philippians 3:12-15 and is, as guitarist Lee says, 'about being persistent and staying in the race with God cheering us on': 'Cos I'm still in the race / Taking the pace, from my zealous core'. 'My Ever My All' is one of the harder rock songs on the album with a low bass introduction, but as the other instruments join in the song, you'd think you were listening to a different song with changes of mood and tempo throughout the song. The bass guitar rhythm holds the song together as it frequently appears while the guitars play various melodies throughout. The lyrics are based on Psalm 89, about how God is great and is everything we need, as shown by the chorus: 'You crown and clothe / Your hands compose / You charm my soul / My ever, my all'.
'M', also known as 'Majesty', was inspired by James Bond. Drummer Nathan explains, 'Jesus came and saved the world - James Bond Style.' The plan was to have a full orchestra backing track for this song but the band settled on a few string and brass samples for this version. The song itself has a mysterious feel to it, with a slow moving introduction, abrupt guitar notes and long-drawn-out singing. The mood changes slightly at the chorus when the instruments play fully, matching the title of the song with a majestic and powerful sound. Track 4, 'Fine', has a unique vocal beginning with a repetitive keyboard accompaniment giving an airy atmosphere. Guitars join, settling the song into a slow rock rhythm. The chorus lyrics are really simple ('You're So Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine'), but they fit the song and don't feel repetitive in any way. This love song is brighter than some of the earlier songs, using various sounds and instruments such as a trumpet and organ instead of a bass guitar track to create a thoughtful effect.
The next track is 'Falling Down', the title track. The beginning of the song is fairly strange with a high pitched beeping sound which disappears as the full force of the instruments join for the chorus, but then it comes back in after the chorus. Again, a mysterious aspect is in this song with staccato string and electronic effects creating the eerie effect. The chorus is very full on with a fallling down feel to it. Towards the end of the song comes a copy of the James Bond Goldfinger song that seems a bit of a pointless addition. The band must like James Bond!
'Divine Design' is a brilliant song, one of the best on the album. It has a similarity to the first track 'Zealous Core' with its flowing guitar rhythm. Starting with a cool guitar riff which is echoed throughout this song, the full instruments join to create a fast moving, bright and enjoyable song. Once again, the vocals are cleverly sung, varying pitch in places to create a colourful mood. The song builds up to the chorus, which again is slightly heavier than the rest of the song. The whole song is very cheerful and has a good guitar solo midway. Just as you think the track has finished, the rhythm of the song comes back and ends with a fun bass and guitar melody which you would expect to hear at a live performance but doesn't damage the song. This was one of the last songs to be written for the album, and it talks about how we can reach our potential as we grow in our relationship with God, and how we recognize that everything good in our lives is because of him.
'Smile', as you might expect by the title, is a glowing, slow rock song. The beginning of the song feels a bit unhappy and dull but as the chorus approaches it becomes much happier and upbeat with the chorus vocals 'I just wanna know you smile on me'. The track started as a rock ballad that the band felt wasn't in keeping with their style, so they fiddled around with it to create a more Steve style song. The song features a fantastic, chirpy guitar solo that leads the song out into the next track 'Hunger'. The two tracks blend into each other by way of a tremolo guitar introduction at the beginning of 'Hunger', that makes you think this is another mysterious and dark song, but the rhythm becomes more upbeat and joyful as the chorus approaches. This song, based on a book called 'God Chasers' really shows what the band is about with the words 'I'm chasing my hunger for heaven'. The song features a fun bridge part with the instruments alternating between each other and then the song goes heavier with a few screaming vocals, but as the main rhythm and the chorus rejoin it picks up it's upbeat feel once again.
Towards the end of the album is 'Hey Now', track 9, and 'Mellow', track 11. These are two of the weaker songs on the album. Despite this 'Hey Now' is one of the band's favourites. It has a very simple verse rhythm and seems slightly half finished, as if it's missing an instrument track, but uses various effects to cover that up. The chorus vocals are simple and the music is heavy but this song is slightly disappointing and could be improved. It's a track about being proud to be a Christian but is probably better suited to hear live. 'Mellow' is a fairly dull song, which is best suited to the last track on the album. The song never gets going, rather like a build-up to a song but never gets there. Once again it has a mysterious aspect to it, or as bassist Rees says, 'hypnotic groove.' It uses many different instruments from cellos to various effect pedals on the guitar. The band chose to just play around with this song rather than create a masterpiece, as they knew this would be the last track on the album.
The song in between these two weaker tracks is 'I'm Here,' a very slow, cheerful piano song which shows off that these guys aren't just about heavy and powerful songs. This is the song on the album to sing to and shows that the vocalist can sing brilliantly. It is a unique song on the album and gives a nice change when listening to this album. The song was written after the drummer, Nathan, lost his father, and it is a song of hope and contemplation. The band worked with what they call 'Real Musicians', more commonly known as a string quartet, to add a gentle background effect. This is a truly great song.
Their record deal with Forefront Records has allowed Steve to produce their songs to their full potential, and you can expect these guys to do very well in the Christian music scene and perhaps even in the mainstream market. These guys are really talented, and the band should forgive me for saying this - they are `real musicians', with the band members being able to play various instruments brilliantly. If you're a fan of raw, modern rock music then you really shouldn't miss this album. It's a fantastic debut album for Steve and it'll be interesting to hear future releases.
Album Rating:
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