Rather than focus on who they sound like -- because there's little doubt they come from the
Charlie Hall/
Chris Tomlin/
Jeremy Riddle school of modern worship -- it's more relevant to describe what
the Robbie Seay Band's third album,
Miracle, does not sound like.
Miracle is not a retread, a Xerox copy, a grand departure, a chastisement, or a watered-down collection for teens. Seay's pleas for God's grace are heartfelt and personal, crafted over a course of ten months and taken from the lives of churchgoers whom the band has come across. The subject matter has depth. It is a set of musical reactions to death, loss, and reversals of fortune that affected the bandmembers' lives. Seay wrote the title track after a family friend received a heinous cancer prognosis. Like the rest of the album, the ambient plea of "I need a miracle" was obviously meant to go beyond congregational worship and express meaningful empathy. It's that empathy and the modern rock touches by co-producers Tedd T. (
tobyMac,
MUTEMATH,
David Crowder Band), Dan Muckala (
Brandon Heath,
the Afters), and Matt Bronleewe (
Chris Tomlin,
Leeland) that give
Miracle its identity. ~ Jared Johnson