Celebrating a Decade of "More Than You Think" by The Ember Days
Thoughts on an album that helped shape my taste in indie worship music.
Hi Pal,
Although the current Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) wave had begun to take shape in the early 2000s, it wasn’t until the 2010s that things really kicked off. Unfortunately, taking place simultaneously at the time, was the slow death of Christian alternative rock music — at least in the form that it existed in the late 90s and early 2000s.
As the notion of worship music began to evolve around that time, bands like The Ember Days were pretty special. It was clear that they wanted to deliver the best of both worlds — creating music that fit into the congregational worship settings that also satisfied the artistic and creative cravings of fans of indie music. Today, bands and artists like this are numerous in my music library. Back then, it was a unique feat.
Years after, I ended up listening to — and enjoying — the band’s discography and falling in love with their 2011 and 2015 albums, Emergency and Valitus. But it’s quite clear to me that I owe all my love for their music to More Thank You Think.
The album begins with easy strums and warm keys creating an atmospheric ambiance before the introduction of Janell Belcher’s lush vocals on “Brothers”. She weaves through the song navigating through both the soft and high sections with ease. These simple words set the album on the path of its conceptual themes:
We are yours
No longer separated Lord
Let us see your love for us
“Awake” is energetic and fits into what we will call rock-inspired worship today. I really like Logan Mackenzie’s drumming on this, as he adds some post-punk-inspired grooves to the chorus. “I’ll Never Let Go” is a song very dear to my heart and speaks about desperately clinging to God even in the darkest of times. The use of repetitive haunting licks on the keyboards and guitars, along with the slightly frantic drumming on the outro creates a sense of urgency that fits the song’s narrative well.
“Make It Alright” is the first song I heard on the album, and it still fills me with nostalgia. After listening to their entire discography, it is the one song that I feel encapsulates all that they represent and the ways that they are able to create indie worship that feels complete. Everything about it just works; the somber verses, the emotional chorus, and the choir sections added to the outro.
There are subtle and noticeable progressive tendencies on this album, with most of the songs reflecting that in one way or another. No song does this better than “Prodigal”, which begins as a slow piano ballad and builds to an anthemic indie rock number towards the halfway point. “Real Jesus” alludes to the contrast between the reflection of Christ in the scriptures and what is sometimes reflected in the world today. It’s a cry for a Jesus that is beyond the ‘ideas’ of men.
“Lift Your Head” is a short track that feels like an interlude, and yet, it has no business being as good as it is. “Frailty” is the most emotional song and from a purely indie rock perspective, it stands as the best tune on the album, in my opinion. It’s lyrically dense, dealing with some heavy themes and the instrumentation enunciates the emotional core of the song in spectacular fashion.
The title track, “More Than You Think”, acts as an album closer and shows us the instrumental post-rock face of the band. Ten years ago, I was not yet a post-rock addict — as I’ve become today — so as you can imagine, my appreciation for this song has grown exponentially over the years.
This album is memorable and continues to be an enjoyable listening experience every time I give it a listen. Even the songs I’m a little down on like “You Are” and “Sons and Daughters” are objectively good tunes.
I just hear too many of those types of songs as radio-friendly Christian songs today. As a result, they don’t stand out as much. It’s clear that at this point, I’m just being a little nitpicky and these tiny gripes do not stop this from being one of the best indie-worship albums of the past decade.
Genre(s): Indie Rock, Worship
Listen Here:
That’s it for today.
Catch you soon!
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