Sixpence None the Richer

Item: Sixpence None the Richer
Author: Joel Thomas

(1997)

Reviewed by Joel Thomas

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Squint EntertainmentExit Zine 19991999

adult alternative alternative rock folk rock indie pop

One of the hottest bands in Christian rock today is Sixpence None the Richer. Formed eight years ago in Texas, Sixpence has a history of offering listeners introspective, meaningful lyrics over a backdrop of lush, sometimes dreamy and wandering, sometimes catchy, pop/alternative rock. Leigh Nash, whose beautiful voice provides those female vocals, sometimes sounds wondering and sensitive, other times sounds deliberate and sure.

Guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum first dreamed up the band after he heard Leigh sing in their church in New Braunfels, Texas. They later started recording together and recorded a 1992 demo, which was heard by a record company executive at the Cornerstone festival. Soon they were making an album. Since then, band members have come and gone, but Matt and Leigh remain the core of the group.

According to Matt, the band name Sixpence None the Richer comes from a story from the C.S. Lewis book, Mere Christianity, in which a boy asks his father for sixpence in order to buy his father a gift. After the boy gives his father the gift, he realizes that this gift really adds nothing to his father's wealth, an example of how anything we as humans do does not make God any better off.

The newest album, 1998's self-titled Sixpence None the Richer, is a masterpiece. Produced by Christian rock legend Steve Taylor, the album offers the listener many lyrical topics, including spirituality, dealing with difficult times, love, friendship, and pain. Musically, the album is overall fairly mellow and peaceful sounding, without necessarily being quiet or subdued. The songs seem to link together, while at the same time being very different from each other. "We Have Forgotten," "Anything," and "The Waiting Room" are all songs that deal with frustration from the difficult record label problems Sixpence went through prior to signing with Squint Entertainment. "Kiss Me," one of my favorite songs on the album, celebrates romantic love, while "Puedo Escribir" (based on Pablo Neruda's poem "Tonight I Can Write...") laments lost love.

"Love" and "Sister, Mother" describe God's love for us as Christians and our responsibility to share it with others. "I Can't Catch You" and "The Lines of My Earth," probably my other two favorite songs on the album, are both contemplative songs of a person searching his or her soul.

Overall, this is one of my favorite new albums. I personally have had the opportunity to speak with Leigh Nash and she is a very kind, considerate, friendly person, and these characteristics shine through in her lead vocals. Matt Slocum's songwriting and guitar playing, along with his scattered orchestral arrangements, make this album among the best Christian albums made in the past several years.

5/5