Following in the wake of a 5-song EP and 7-song worship album, Within Sampler, the latest effort from San Diego's Sisera Fell, consists of songs taken from three recordings made between 1999 and 2001. Taking their name from the fourth chapter of the book of Judges, the quartet jumps out of the gate in fine fashion with the energetic ska-tinged worship number "Hannah's Prayer," following the opening track with a cache of songs that includes the equally perky folk/rock "Return," the beautiful acoustic ballad "The Waters of Noah" and the hauntingly mesmerizing best-of-album track, "Rise Up." In much the same way, the band possesses a dexterity with words that equals or surpasses its enthusiastic musical delivery. Indeed, songs like "Zug Zug" (It's not my fault/ I'm flesh and bone/ Consequences are not my own) and "Rise Up" (Don't want to see others gain/ So we make sure they fail/ Alone on the inside/ We wander this trail) display gripping turns of phrase and a surprisingly broad insight into human behavior, particularly given the relative youth of the group's members.
The better part of the album's weaker moments can likely be relegated to the near-universal miscues that inform the work of the majority of indie artists just starting out. Timing is lost here and there, songs occasionally run to the point of repetition, and the vocals sometimes swerve just sharp or flat of their intended notes. In all fairness, though, such miscues are probably the stuff of first and second takes from any number of major-label artists. And, indeed, the lion's share of Within's drawbacks are probably nagging kinks to be worked out rather than deep-seated flaws that threaten to mar the band's releases from this point forward. To be sure, taken as a whole, the Within Sampler stands as a pretty fair first stab at a more widespread recognition and serves as an encouraging demonstration of nascent talent from a group that, even now, seems well on its way to developing a distinctive musical and lyrical identity.
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