Joy Electric

Item: Children of the Lord
Author: Justin W. Jones

Children of the Lord

(1999)

Reviewed by Justin W. Jones

Discogs Apple Music Spotify

Label BEC RecordingsThe Phantom TollboothMay 1999

electronic synth pop

The Children of the Lord maxi-single is a basic promo for Joy Electric's new album, CHRISTIANsongs, with two songs that appear on the album ("Children of the Lord" and "Make My Life a Prayer") and two that don't ("I'm OK, You're OK," and a remix of "Children of the Lord" by Cloud2Ground).

All the music is analogue and wonderfully done, and the title track is an instant classic of great music and childlike sarcasm that clearly outshines the remix. Cloud2Ground is the moniker given to work by Jeremy Dawson, a Christian trance artist. Although his early techno material is innovative and standard setting, his remix of "Children of the Lord" does not do the piece justice. Incorporating typical synth breaks and an overall progressive style of music, Dawson forces the song to undergo a very rough transition from "Happy Hardcore" to trance. As a result, this remix just doesn't work well in the context of a Joy Electric album.

"I'm OK, You're OK" is an eighties new wave song with a dance groove a lot like Joy Electric's earlier songs. The cover of Keith Green's "Make My Life a Prayer," shows Ronnie Martin's more spiritual side. The music follows Joy Electric's standard formula of basic synth pop grooves and hissing percussion, and it sounds like it was truly sung from the heart.

4.5 tocks