Everyone

Item: Everyone
Author: Josh Hurst

(2003)

Reviewed by Josh Hurst

Discogs Bandcamp

Label Furious? RecordsThe Rebel Base2003

ccm worship

The following review might be slightly less intelligent than my usual fare; I did, after all, lose a few brain cells while listening to the self-titled debut from Everyone, yet another modern worship band trying to pass off bland, oversimplified clichés and lackluster music as something meaningful.

"Everyone sing this song/ Jesus, you're the Son of God," sings lead vocalist Jeff Searles on opening song "Everyone" (these guys struggle with naming stuff), with all the emotion of a brick wall. The lyrics are so predictable that you can guess the next word before Searles sings it. The music is radio-ready and reminiscent of Delirious? on sedatives. It's trite and wholly unoriginal. It's got all the excitement of the Golf Channel. And it's one of the album's best songs.

On "Thank You," Searles delivers a monotonous reading of the lines "Thank you, thank you/ I will always bring you praise/ From the deepest places of my heart" over a sterile beat and sleepy guitar noodling that sound like they were lifted from... well, a Christian adult-contemporary radio station. "Jesus Savior" is comprised of lyrics that take one back to junior high youth group. I imagine it'll be a big hit at Vacation Bible School this summer.

And so it goes for ten whole tracks. Ten whole tracks. The longest ten song set I've ever sat through. The album is rather brief at only 43 minutes, and yet it feels like hours. Imagine a whodunit murder novel in which you are told whodunit in the first sentence. This album is far more predictable.

If the men of Everyone are reading this, I hope they know that I'm not critiquing because I'm a big meanie. I have no secret agenda to ruin their lives. I get no pleasure out of bashing this music. And no, believe it or not, I'm not the spawn of Satan. Rather, I critique because I want to exhort Everyone- and myself- to excellence.

There seems to be a common misconception in Christian music circles that a song automatically has worth and artistic merit simply because it drops the name of Jesus a few times. In fact, some of my own friends adhere to the belief that, if something is explicitly worshipful, it's fine art. I beg to differ; what about craftsmanship? What about musicianship? What about poetry? Art is something that moves the heart and the head.

Now, am I implying that worship music has to be enigmatic and riddlesome, difficult to comprehend? Of course not. But I am saying that I expect things like creativity. I expect subtlety. I expect songwriting that is above a second-grade level.

Tonight, if possible, find a scenic hillside and watch the sunset. It will soon become abundantly clear that, when God creates, he refuses to settle for mediocrity; why should our own creative endeavors be any different? Why should we choose to worship the Creator with anything less than excellence?

Now let's end the tangent and close with a final word on Everyone: This band is full of men who obviously have passionate hearts for Jesus. And that's fantastic. In fact, it's probably enough to make the album appealing to many folks. Not to me. It's going to take some musical risks, some more imaginative songwriting, and a sound that borrows less from Delirious? to sell me on Everyone.