East to West

Item: North Of The Sky
Author: Stephen Trickey

North Of The Sky

(1995)

Reviewed by Stephen Trickey

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Label Benson Music GroupThe LighthouseOctober 1995

adult contemporary ccm pop

As one of Christian music's new pop duos, East to West experienced some success with their 1994 debut, East To West. Along with having five top-10 singles (including a #1 song, "Prince Of Peace"), they were nominated as New Artist of the Year by America's Christian Music Awards and the Dove awards. The duo ended their 1994 experience touring with 4HIM and Al Denson. Not wasting any time, Jay DeMarcus and Neal Coomer, who make up East to West, have released their sophomore effort, North Of The Sky.

With their new project, it seems that the duo figured there was no reason to tinker with success, and have stayed with their previous style. The 10-song collection is a consistent mix of up-tempo songs and mid-to-slow-tempo ballads. No chance of harder edge rock or a slightly alternative sound on North Of The Sky, just straightforward pop.

The up-tempo tunes such as "This Time Around" and "Love Like This" have plenty of catchy hooks, surrounded with nice horn and electric guitar play. These songs will remind many of pop hits from their previous project, such as "Welcome To The Next Level" and "Prince Of Peace." The ballads are nicely placed in the collection and allow the strong vocals of Neal Coomer to give the songs plenty of emotion. The slower tunes, such as "North Of The Sky," "When The Feeling Is Gone," and "All Over Again" also give a spotlight to what seems to be the duo's focus, which is the message.

Lyrically, the songs follow a straightforward approach to two main themes: searching and finding Christ in our desperate times:

All over again I just can't get it right But mercy lives where faith and flesh collide Oh, you knew I'd give in When you gave up your life And I know You'd do it all over again

and celebrating His presence in our lives:

This time around there'll be no speculation The King will wear his crown this time around The world will see his glory Watch His Kingdom come down and I'll be praying that you'll be there Because it just won't be like it was before this time around

The fact that these messages are as effective in the up-tempo songs as they are in the slower ones allows the project to have fluid feeling both musically and lyrically. With lyrics such as these, it is easy to see how effectively the message is received. Fans of their previous work and of artists such as Al Denson, 4HIM, Michael O'Brien and Clay Crosse, and anyone else who enjoys a solid pop sound, will find North Of The Sky enjoyable.