Yes, Third Day are in Australia and about to release a new album. In the meantime, ROBBIE TOWNSEND takes a look at their last, Miracle…
Album: Miracle
Artist: Third Day
Year: 2012
Label: Essential
In A Word: Sparse
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With 11 studio albums and over 10 million(!) albums sold, countless awards, and multiple world tours, Third Day are one of the truly mega acts of Christian music. Hit play on a Third Day CD and you know you’re going to get confident strong music. Miracle is no exception.
Opening with Hit Me Like A Bomb, Miracle gets off to a strong and energetic rock start – Australian listeners will likely recognise some Powder Finger–like similarities. But the album does then take a bit of an unexpected turn into contemporary acoustic pop with Kicking And Screaming and the worshipful Your Love Is Like A River.Neither of these songs are bad, they just sound a bit out of place after such a strong opening track.
Up next is the title track I Need A Miracle which is drawn from a true story of a young man who drove into the woods to end his own life only to hear a ‘miracle’ song that made him change his mind. The story within this song is moving, and is testament to the power of music and how God can use it to speak deeply into the lives of people.
For The Rest Of My Life see’s Third Day show some versatility with some synths and….wait for it…falsetto! It is nice – in fact I love it. I Want To Believe In You and The Victory brings us back to the southern rock we know and love, with a particularly phat snare drum.
The momentum really slows from there, almost petering out with little to get interested in. In fact, if it wasn’t for the last song, Third Day’s take on Cat Stevens’ Morning Has Broken, I’m not sure that I would make it to the last track again.
A ‘miracle’ this album isn’t. Sure, there are moments of greatness and transcendence, but they are fewer than I am used to in a Third Day album. The best moments are all in the first half which ensures an underwhelming second half. When a cover song is the highlight of the back end, you know there is a problem! Sure, there are some catchy songs that I will sing loud and put on a playlist, but as an overall 12 track peace of art I’m left underwhelmed.
