NICHOLAS D’ANDREA – SHINE OUT VOL 1

It’s a shame that most associations with so-called worship music conjure images of vapid, repetitive pop buried under layers of reverb. There were points in history where believers were key players in areas of science and art; these days, it seems, from the most public angle, that the Christian’s best creative offering is purely derivative.

Nicholas D’Andrea’s newest release thankfully breaks this convention. There are familiar elements as there would be for any artist – but there aren’t many praise albums that borrow equally from Bob Dylan and Jon Foreman. Switch the lyrical content and you’ve got something close to 90s rock with a bit of psych influence. Equally Dylanesque are D’Andrea’s lyrics and vocals, image-heavy sentiments delivered with a bit of grit and even a sprinkle of messiness that hearkens to the era where listeners weren’t looking for perfection.

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