Worship records can be tricky to review--should they be compared and criticized alongside regular music releases, or given special accommodations since, by nature, they are more simplistic and straightforward? If an artist makes an effort to add artistic integrity to their sound, does that make its worship labeling irrelevant or incorrect? Should a worship artist try to tailor their sound for radio or hit status? Possibly one of the primary problems many modern Christian artists have involves the latter question- when a worship artist (by genre definition) tries to accommodate their style's simplistic nature for popular airplay. Such records are less worship releases than they are merely contemporary pop albums tailored to a particular audience. It can often result in bad art, a lack of genuine worshipfulness, or both.
So what does this have to do with Asher Seevinck's new release? If a worship release is to be sold and marketed alongside other regular music releases, it must have the artistic integrity and musicality to legitimize it (which in effect forces the release to go beyond 'worship' status, but that's beside the point). And though Anything of Value can be defined as a worship album by today's industry standards, there's a slight creativity to his songs that provides them the necessary depth required to make this legit. He uses folkish percussion, earthy instrumentation, and various vocal harmonies to flesh out his simple praise lyricism, perhaps what Caedmon's Call would sound like when they delved entirely into the worship aspects of their sound.
There's creativity at the core of nearly every song, a slight musical flair throughout that at times gets downright impressive, but is often held back by melodies, primarily involving his vocals, that don't quite seem to tie themselves together properly. It's a bit of a frustrating final conclusion to come to, but what Anything of Value reveals is a talented worship artist whose songcraft isn't quite developed enough to properly handle the creative musical ideas its own artist comes up with. This may simply be the effect of the genre's own limitations holding the artist back, but a good song is a good song, and Anything of Value leaves me wanting in that regard. But I sense a mine's worth of gems just waiting to be dug up and refined by this guy- he's perhaps testing the waters with this release, but there's certainly enough strength and creative potential for him to dive right in next time.
2.5 tocks
