Whoa! The past month has been unusually warm up here in Minnesota, and right
now talking about Christmas seems really awkward. But, alas, most Christmas
CDs are coming out this week, and a local department store already has their
Christmas tree displays up. To let our normal lives go on a bit without the
Christmas season intruding, we promise we'll not have any Christmas coverage
(besides new releases) for at least another month. And to prove it, here's a
review of a great new CD that isn't a Christmas disc!

GOT COMMENTS?? - We want your input on cMusicWeb.com! Send it to
webmaster@... or find me on AOL IM.

UNSUBSCRIBE?? - Logon to http://groups.yahoo.com to do so, or drop us an
e-mail telling us why you're annoyed by hearing from us.


DIVINE INVITATION - SOMETHING LIKE SILAS (2004)
by Hollie Stewart

I've driven the California highway that holds the white windmills spanning
endlessly across the brown landscape. The arms blur, morphing into each
other with no distinction. But the cover of Divine Invitation shows the arms
bending, transforming into ribbons, and breaking the straight mold. The band
Something Like Silas is the ribbon arms of worship music. They're unexpected
and almost bizarre in musical style, yet their strangeness is a welcomed
diversion from the average worship project.

Something Like Silas finds inspiration in creating worship from bands like
delirious? and The Violet Burning. Divine Invitation incorporates heavy
guitars that soar one moment in airy acoustics only to plunge into deep
distortion several measures later. Malina Owyoung's Fender Rhodes keyboard
adds fillers within each movement to give that extra sparkle. Her husband
Eric leads the band toward a unified and passionate expression of praise.

The title track offers a perfect example of this band's range. Beginning
soft like whispers, Eric and Malina duet with keyboard and piano. Then the
guitars, bass and drums arrive, and Eric jumps to his falsetto, singing, "In
this divine invitation we find Your embrace / and in our deep adoration see
the light of Your face / In this divine invitation we all find the place /
For our souls, where the longings were born long ago." It's only in
answering the Divine call that we find rest for our wandering spirits.

This theme of invitation saturates much of this recording. In "Words that
You Say," the band invites God to make His presence manifest so He can speak
deep into their hearts: "I await the words that You say / I open my life / I
am longing just to hear these words / that You say, that You say." There's
also an invitation to be sent out and fulfill the Great Commission: "Can I
be a channel of Your love / a reflection of Your light?" These words are
framed by a pulsing yet delicate beat. The invitation to be brought into the
throne room of God appears in their cover of Matt Redman's classic, "Better
is One Day." While I normally dislike hearing songs that have been
over-recorded through covers (see Passion: Better is One Day and Passion:
One Day Live), Something Like Silas takes this song to renewed heights. The
tune "Please" asks God to draw near and remind the seeker of His
omnipresence: "Please tell me in this holy fear that You are near me / in
silence I will know that You will hear me, Lord." Invitations on this level
require a degree of openness, and Something Like Silas allows itself to be
transparent within this recording. The band is unafraid to question,
unafraid to reveal a dependence on God, unafraid to hurt.

"In the Burning"—the most reckless, power-driven cut on the album—shows how
fearless this band is in seeking the fire of God. The chorus rings, "In the
burning / I have the feeling my senses are far too small to contain Your
fire / You are so beautiful like no other / I am burning for You." After the
musical chaos settles to relative calm, Malina repeats, as a mantra, "In the
fire, I will find You." The truth of this lyric is profound: it's often in
the moment of crisis when the truth of one's character shines bright. When
the road stretches smooth it's often easy to claim dependence on God. But
when the road turns rocky, do we have the strength to forego self and stand
in this unseen entity called faith…and remain standing? Are we able to sing,
"In the fire, I will find You"?

Something Like Silas manages to find God in every circumstance, in every
road, and Divine Invitation is the documentation of these discoveries.
Experimental in both music and lyrics, Something Like Silas is a gem that
should remain visible if record executives want the bland state of worship
music to change. If you've written off worship albums as cliché and
overcooked, Divine Invitation will re-ignite your hunger. The next time you
take a turn down your road, make sure this album drives along with you.

Find out more about Something Like Silas at cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/worship/somethinglikesilas


MORE NEW STUFF ON cMUSICWEB.COM

Interview: ApologetiX: That Christian Parody Band
http://cMusicWeb.com/features/apologetix


AVAILABLE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

PURCHASE THIS MUSIC AND MORE AT GRASSROOTSMUSIC.COM:
http://www.grassrootsmusic.com/?associateid=249

ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHRISTMAS - VARIOUS
The latest in Provident's collection of "Absolute" compilations, this one
just might be worth checking out. A decent amount of the songs are
unreleased recordings, so look for new stuff from Derek Webb, Smalltown
Poets, Todd Agnew, Tree63 and more.

PHIL BAQUIE - PHIL BAQUIE
Here's a new artist with very little new to offer. Half the songs on the
disc are modern worship or covers in a pop/rock style that is all too often
played.

CCM'S TOP 100 GREATEST SONGS IN CHRISTIAN MUSIC VOL. 1 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
By design, there is very little new on this album. Yet, some of these are
undoubtedly the best Christian music tracks ever and could be a good listen
for those who are not familiar with the history of Christian music.

GLORIA - VARIOUS ARTISTS
Probably the best Christmas album to release this year, Gloria piggybacks on
the success of Rocketown's Exodus project. Featuring most of the Rocketown
family as well as Amy Grant and Charlie Peacock, this disc brings an
eclectic mix of Christmas cheer, old and new.

LET THE WORSHIPPERS ARISE - PHILLIPS, CRAIG & DEAN
Although PC&D is on a different label, the story stays the same. The pastors
cover some of their favorite songs on a disc produced by Nathan Nockels.

REAL CHRISTMAS - KIM HILL
Fans of Kim Hill will definitely love Christmas done Kim's way. This
passionate singer covers all your Christmas favorites.

RESET EP - MUTE MATH
Earthsuit is back ...sort of. Paul Meany and company bring that electronic
rock that made Earthsuit so unique minus the rap. This PICK OF THE WEEK EP
gives us a taste of what is in store for this band, including a great
instrumental title track and six other songs.

STILL THE CROSS - FFH
FFH is still here and going strong. Fans of the band will certainly still
find great songs, but I found little that a non-fan like myself would enjoy.


THE LATEST NEWS HEADLINES
- Switchfoot keeps fans up late
- The MP Network To Launch In October
- "American Music Awards" nominees announced
- And more!

View all the latest stories on cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/


Thanks for reading this week's cMusicMail, and we'll be back next week with
even more great content. If you have any comments or questions, please reply
to this e-mail or send them to webmaster@.... We'd love to hear
from you!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
AOL IM - dMusicWeb