White Flag – Passion
Album Review by Tamara Fuentes
First there was the Hillsong Conference, CreationFest, and Youth Conference. But now, a new conference is stepping into the spotlight. Passion, which started in 1997, is finally stepping out and getting recognized and it has the album to prove it. It’s finally going back on its world tour after cancelling its tour in 2011, but now they are ready to take the scene back by storm.
On January 2nd, the Georgia Dome was filled with young people all the way until January 5th, to take part in one of the biggest Passions conferences and its newest venue since its move from the Philips Arena in 2007. The album features big names like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, David Crowder*Band, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and Charlie Hall. But the main artist in the album is the crowd that sings along to every song.
Kristian Stanfill opens up the album with the song “Not Ashamed”, which doesn’t fail to get the crowd pumping as they sing along with him throughout the song. The song opens up with heavy drums and continues on with a strong guitar and Stanfill’s vocals which causes everyone to shout along with him when he yells out “Hey! Hey” in the middle of the song. His second song “One Thing Remains” is one of the few slow songs in the album. Stanfill’s strong rock voice hushes down to a soft, lullaby-kind voice that matches the balled completely. With the crowd singing along, this song takes it’s already strong message and turns it into an anthem that the whole crowd clearly sings from the heart without any problems.
Chris Tomlin, which is probably the biggest name in the entire album, is featured in 6 songs throughout the album, the most than any other artist in there. His song “White Flag” is the album’s lead single and title. Tomlin does not disappoint, as the crowd joins him during the chorus which makes the song even more memorable.
His next track, “Jesus, Son of God” is a duet with Christy Nockels who doesn’t disappoint as well. Tomlin’s soft voice and Nockels strong alto mixes together well in this soft anthem, which still pumps up the crowd with its strong instrumentation. Together, their voices create one sweet harmony that can rarely be found but is special between these two, which gives the song its own special place in the album.
Christy Nockels continues on with her first solo song on the album, “How I Love You”. While the instrumentation is simple, as she is only backed up by a piano, her voice and how it interacts with the crowd gives the song a second voice. Nockels’ voice is softer than in the previous track, but she is still able to affect the crowd in a similar fashion. In the middle of the song, she speaks to the crowd asking them to join her in singing the simple song, which causes the listening to sing along with her without any hesitation.
David Crowder*Band finally get their turn on the stage, with their only song in the album “Lay Me Down”. In this song, they bring the concert back to full motion by bringing in a fast rhythm that will cause anyone to dance. The crowds’ clapping also plays a big part in the song but doesn’t take away from the band who is already doing so well. David Crowder’s vocals doesn’t disappoint as he pumps the crowd back up from the previous track, and does so successfully as the crowd is singing strongly back to them in the middle of the track.
“You Revive Me”, the second solo track by Nockels doesn’t disappoint like her last one. While her voice is much stronger in this one and it shows off her songwriting skill, the band comes back in full force. She is backed up with the piano heard in “How I Love You”, drums, and two acoustic guitars. The song has a southern feel to it, unlike most of the other songs which have a strong rock feel. She shows that she is still able to move the crowd in more ways than one.
A strong violin section opens up the next song “Yahweh” which then is followed up by Chris Tomlin’s powerhouse voice and strong drumming which match his vocals perfectly. The violins continue throughout the song, giving it a different feel unlike his previous tracks, but he is still able to retain his original sound. His lyrics, while simple and repetitive, are still as effective in the long run and his shouting of “Yahweh” throughout the chorus pumps up the crowd even more than before.
“Sing Along”, Nockels’ final song on the album is much more powerful than the rest and gets the crowd pumping much more than the others. Her songwriting shines through more than any of the other tracks and her voice makes it seems like she might not need the piano after all the back her up. The drummer adds a different affect to the song, giving it a strong rhythm which then moves her to show her amazing alto range while the chorus backs her up until the end.
Charlie Hall’s “Mystery”, definitely starts off with a mystery feeling with its use of violin and a drum box. Then as he sings along throughout the song, his strong vocals and songwriting skills shine through in one of the most powerful songs in the entire album. His unique vocal technique is enough to make him memorable throughout the album and the crowd cheers him throughout the song, from beginning to end.
Matt Redman is the final person to be introduced to the album with his song “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)”. While the song might start off like a soft ballad, it ends off with him being backed up by strong drumming and passionate singing coming from the audience. The songs feel comes through something you can find in the song “We Are Young” by Fun. but it’s simple songwriting and creative rhythm makes Redman one of the strongest writers throughout album.
Chris Tomlin’s song “The Only One” has similar instrumentation to Redman’s song, but with a greater feel and passion that was never seen in any of the previous tracks. Along with the crowd’s clapping, the drumming is taken to a different level as an African drum beat is added. The guitarist makes the song seem simple with a few riffs, but still manages to take the song to a different level. Tomlin and the crowd sing on the top of their lungs in this track, making you want to join them as well. In the middle of the song, he reminds the crowd why they are there, which causes them to sing louder than ever heard in the previous tracks.
“No Turning Back” ends the album by starting off with a simple synthesizer and Tomlin’s powerhouse vocals that fill the room quickly. Then just after a few measures, the crowd joins in with simple clapping and the bass line and takes over along with the drums and guitar. While the song is a little softer then “The Only One” its message takes full forces. Nockels returns for a while, joining Tomlin giving it the same feeling as “Jesus, Son of God”. The last line of the song reminds the crowd that there is no turning back from what they just experienced and with that the crowd fades away.
All in all, Passion truly shows us what Passion college kids have, and doesn’t disappoint us in having to wait another year for the next conference and album.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
Website: http://www.268generation.com/3.0/
