Published on May 28, 2000
Several years ago, a band that mixed alternative rock, pop, and
rap, burst onto the Christian music scene and quickly became a
favorite of church youth groups – and their leaders. That band,
Reality Check, just as quickly disappeared. After their promising
first disc, the band imploded and was no more.
Now, after several years, Narthan Barlowe and Jonathan
MacIntosh, the creative force behind Reality Check, are back with a
new band — and that band, Luna Halo, has released another
amazingly good debut disc. Luna Halo is every bit as accessible as
Reality Check was, but without the rap. Listening to this disc was
at once familiar, because of the pop textures, and new.
Shimmer was produced by current hot producer Monroe Jones,
with one song, “Hang On To You,” produced by Barlowe and Tedd
Tjornhom, another producer-in-demand. The sound they create is an
amalgam of Jeff Lynne/Electric Light Orchestra/Traveling Wilburys
(see the intro for “Superman”) and the pop soundscape of John
Lennon and Paul McCartney in their Beatles era.
I really hate to make Beatles comparisons because anyone who’s
any good gets themselves compared to the Fab Four. But, when I
think pop perfection, it doesn’t come any better than the best of
the Beatles and ELO. Anyone claiming to write excellent pop music
is going to borrow from the best — and I’m okay with that because
this project has plenty of originality as well.
Shimmer opens up with the song “Aliens,” a quirky song
written by Barlowe and McIntosh that starts out with what sounds
like people speaking over a shortwave radio. Then the guitars crank
in and the song, which deals with the singer’s thought life, takes
off. It’s a battle between the flesh and the Spirit and the battle
is taking place within his mind and the aliens are the thoughts he
struggles to keep under control:
“Contact in my head / With these aliens / pursuing my control /
How did I let in / These poison thoughts again / Can I finally let
them go?”
The battle is with the sin nature, for you theologians out
there, but Barlowe and MacIntosh don’t let themselves off that
easily: Sometimes I’ll admit/I purposely forget/Pretend I left it
all behind me. Can you relate? I knew you could.
Barlowe has said he is “amazed and confounded” by the depth of
God’s forgiveness and redemption. Because of that reality he wants
to, through Luna Halo, take that message to the secular world. The
band’s vision is to integrate their faith and musical excellence
with cultural relevance and authenticity.
From one song to another this disc holds together. In
“Forgiveness,” Barlowe and MacIntosh write about, surprisingly
enough, God’s seemingly unending capacity to forgive:
“The things You said / Seem to find their way back into my head
/ And I regret my ways / You never left / Remind me once again so I
won’t forget / You’re never far away / I can’t believe it / The way
You forgive me.”
And that’s an essential truth — it is hard for us to believe
God can forgive and forgive and forgive — and continue to forgive.
Yet, that’s the amazing thing about God — He does, while still
calling His people to a deeper righteousness at the same time.
Realizing the deity of God — and remembering who’s in charge
here — is the key thought behind the song “Heaven.” The song
clearly states that God is the center of everything. It all happens
because of Him and for Him and through Him. We exist to serve God
— not the other way around:
“How could I forget / Things that You have done / And how could
I ignore / The place You brought me from / But when I make it
through the darkness / It’s so easily forgotten.”
It’s clear that there is no easy believism going on in these
songs. Barlowe and MacIntosh, who co-wrote the majority of the
tunes on this project, wrestle openly with their sorrows and
weaknesses. They are not afraid to write songs that are
conversations with God. The ballad “Carry Me” is a prayer directly
to God in a time of need. It acknowledges man’s need to depend on
God:
“You alone are right for me, my Lord / All along I lost myself
in You / And I would rather be in the deep / Where I can hold on to
You / And You can carry me / From the shallow to the deep / ‘Cause
I can only see / When I’m standing on my knees.”
Now, that’s dependence on God. Pair this song with an excellent
tune “Hang On To You” written by Delirious’ Martin Smith and you
get a picture of the Christian life – God will carry us from the
shallow to the deep, but we have to hold on to Him. If we let go
for a moment we could fall.
It’s a welcome time to have Barlowe and MacIntosh back — even
if it’s not as Reality Check. Luna Halo is the antidote to formula
pop groups like Avalon, Point of Grace, and 4Him for those of us
who enjoy intelligent pop music — with an edge. Don’t give me
grief for that comment. I’m not saying there’s not room for that
kind of music, I listen to it myself, but now and then it’s good to
think while listening to your pop music. Here’s hoping Luna Halo
hangs around longer than Barlowe and MacIntosh’s previous
group.
One essential note: if you haven’t gotten over mourning the
demise of PFR, give Luna Halo a try — the two groups are working
off the same page, musically and lyrically.