The first time I threw Poor Man's Riches' self-titled project into my CD player, I immediately questioned, "Why hasn't anyone signed this band yet?" Little did I know at the time, that the band was gaining momentum and recognition competing in the annual GMA National Finals, eventually taking second overall in their category.
Honestly, it's difficult for me to label this band in regards to style. I can hear influences of the early '90s modern rock genre with sounds similar to Soundgarden, Seven Mary Three, and Silverchair just to name a few. Jeremy Zellar, frontman of the band simply describes the band's sound as "modern rock with a dash of hot sauce, and a lot of Jesus..."
"Wheels of Disbelief," a heavy hitting, crunchy throw-down song grabs you immediately from the start. Zellar instantly reminds me of Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots with his raw and raspy voice, backed by an intricately laid choreography of guitar riffs. By the time he hits and holds the lyrics, "don't you think it's time," I am convinced of it.
Lyrically, there is some room for interpretation, a mystery of sorts that I appreciate as a listener. I imagine that Zellar's written this song about a person who is so close, yet so far away from a relationship with God. Musically, the band has written guitar parts of various degrees, each separate and definite of one another. But working and building they come crashing together into the chorus, and it's then that I hunger to watch this band live.
"Motions," the first single released by the band, recently gained national airplay cracking the top 30 on the national R & R charts for Christian rock. With the likes of Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, PAX217, Relient K, Poor Man's Riches is bumping elbows with several nationally recognized artists. In addition, it's gaining an impetus through Christianrock.net and is currently spinning in over 400 radio stations; quite impressive for an indie band.
From the start of "Motions," the groove hooks you, and I find myself bobbing my head with the rhythm. We've all been in the situation described in "Motions," a time in our lives when we are too complacent and apathetic with our routines and schedules, perhaps too comfortable in our relationships. "Motions" is about shedding our shells and becoming the person God wants us to be.
PMR paints a vivid visual of Jesus walking on the waters on a stormy night through "Distant Shores." Although he's calling out to us, we put up obstacles and barriers that prevent us from completely giving ourselves to Him. I feel a tendency to group this song into the Creed genre, somewhat like "One Last Breath" per se. Something that strikes me as passé for some reason is the lyric, "Jesus carried my cross to the hill of Calvary to take the burden away from me." I know this sounds foolish, but lyrically it seems overused, yet it's such an important story to tell. It's a catch-22.
Are you supposed to feel like breaking something when you listen to "Second Skin?" If so, I must be following the directions correctly as this edgy song makes my heart race and my testosterone rise. I love the composition of the chorus and the progressive guitar parts working together with the percussion. Like driving a Porsche along a twisting and curvy ocean-side highway, this song zigs and zags effectively. "Second Skin" is about how we struggle daily, but in our weakness we can find strength in God to lift us out of the abyss of our emptiness.
Call me crazy for drawing this parallel, but the intro to "Break Me" reminds me of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." Crazy, huh? At one point or another we all struggle in our relationship with God when we might stumble. Romans 7:15 reads, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Perhaps this was the inspiration in writing "Break Me."
In my head I know what Your word is saying
To turn away from all the things that tempt me
In my head I try so hard to follow
And yet I fall and turn my face from you.
But then Zellar cries out to God to break him and speak the truth. Both literally and figuratively, this song hammers out the idea that we cannot water down God nor the word. At times we need to be broken and humbled so that we will once again turn from our evil ways and fall upon our knees again.
A catchy electric guitar riff introduces "For the Taking," an offering song to God that paints a dramatic picture of our relationship with Him. I'm drawn to the first few lines of the lyrics that radically read:
Taken captive by your presence
A prisoner held in chains
Shackled by the one who owns me
A servant to the throne of grace
To a non-believer, perhaps that sounds intimidating, but to me it's a beautiful depiction of how God desires to keep us as sheep of His flock. The bridge of this song is gripping as Zellar's voice is manipulated, overlaid with a punchy bass line, swelling guitar parts, and some nice triple strums thrown in for good measure.
"Hand of Grace" finally slows the tempo and mood of the project. Introduced with an acoustic guitar, we hear a different side of Zellar's voice, pure yet still hanging onto the raw. The harmonies of "Hand of Grace" are carefully interwoven with Zellar's melody, hauntingly comparable to Alice in Chains. The chorus has a great pattern interlacing the vocals with the music. But don't let the acoustic guitar fool you when out of nowhere the band breaks into a great throw-down type of bridge, while Zellar shrieks, "He calls you up...!"
PMR continues to hold the pace back when introducing "Without You," probably one of my favorite tracks on the CD. "Without You" builds progressively until Zellar launches into the chorus of naturally, "I can't make it without you." With the band following his lead, PMR breaks from the quiet chains and pounds out an aggressive chorus. Lyrically, I connect with this song when Zellar sings, "You're the beginning to my end," a deep and compelling lyric. And then again PMR, almost in a praise and worship manner, sings:
Lord you fill me, You free me
You move me consume me
You've taken me and delivered me
You've reformed me, You've transformed me
"Unwound" is about letting go of the past and the walls we use to separate us from God and our own selfish desires. Driven by a moody guitar riff, the song turns dark and almost eerie with manipulated background vocals in the bridge. It's an effective way to mix up "Unwound."
"Praise You" is appropriately named as the band revisits its original roots with a praise and worship tune. Although this song deviates somewhat from the overall sound of PMR's other work on this project, it's suitably placed at the end of the CD. One element of the band that deserves recognition is its continued perseverance to not sell out to a secular market. Musically, PMR blends well with the secular industry, however Zellar is clear about maintaining their message. "We will go wherever God takes us... however, we will not leave behind the message that has gotten us to where we are, and the reason we do what we do." Amen.
I really only have one constructive criticism of this project. From a production standpoint, the background vocals and harmonies are too quiet at times. Although the parts are audible, they are just too faint for my liking. Knowing that the harmonies were written well and blend amazingly and timely in their respective songs, I am disappointed that these vocal parts weren't pulled out more to perfect the tunes.
So why hasn't a label signed this band? Zellar later answered that question in a Seventhseed.com interview chiding, "as an indie band, it is important to be patient, and build relationships. educate yourselves as much as possible about the industry, and take the advice of those that have "been there, done that." We have been fortunate enough to have taken the appropriate steps, at the appropriate times, and have seen success at an indie level...we have had several labels approach us. We are just now getting the kind of label attention that we feel can take us to the next level." I suppose it's just a matter of time.
