From the war torn, globally important ancient city of Jerusalem comes the band The Pit That Became a Tower. They are a jewel in the desert, offering songs of peace and forgiveness in a region that desperately needs just that. The subject of war is touched upon throughout this album but it's never in a preachy us versus them manner. It's more like "we've been doing this for years, can we give this a rest now." My favorite song on this record is one such song it's aptly called "The Idiot Syndrome" it talks about the human cost in war. Lead singer Adam Rosenfeld has served in the Israeli army before so when he sings, "war can be so enticing: the idiot syndrome, but when you're on the front lines, you just want to be back home" it's hard to not be floored by the emotion and honesty that are in those lines because you know he is singing from experience. What's great about this CD is that no matter what's discussed, the band points back to the source of hope and reconciliation, Jesus. The song "Lying Lions" discusses the band member's love and devotion to the City of David in the midst of all the turmoil and then points that devotion back to the Lord the architect of the city.
"Airport Ministry Thief / (Shalom Y'all)" is an amazing song about forgiveness, when your enemies are doing all they can to disrupt your life you must try to forgive, which is easy for us to say from the safety of our homes in America but for someone living with terrorist attack after terrorist attack in their very streets, this is simply awe-inspiring "it takes more than a machine gun, to find survival in this town, it takes a revolution in your way of thinking" amen to that Adam. "The Nothing Room" makes use of electric "swirly" devices that are accompanied by a melodic harmony of guitar, bass and drums -- such a beautiful intro and the xylophone later in the song was a terrific touch. That song has been on repeat for awhile in my car. This band's X-factor is Bethany Rosenfeld with her lilting angelic voice shedding beauty and warmth on every track she sings on. Joel Hilsden's rhythmic pounding is absolute perfection, definitely one of the best drummers around right now. Check out the title track and "Great Grandfather Alarm Clock" and listen for yourself. Musically TPTBAT is hard to nail down but think Dear Ephesus with smoother vocals, occasional female vocals, and a strong Pavement influence and finish it off with an infusion of punk rock attitude and you'll get a pretty good idea what these guys sound like. Lyrically a lot of the songs come off sounding like modern day Psalms; if King David were around he would be proud of Adam's lyric writing ability. There's absolutely no filler on this album. This is music for the soul, worship at its finest. When artists pour themselves as well as their hearts out and say, "This is me, this is what I have Lord do with it what you will." This is one of the ten best albums that have been released this year. If TPTBAT is any indication of the quality of music Israel has to offer I think some music executives need to take a trip and tap into that underground scene. Thank you TPTBAT for bringing us such passionate original music.
4.5 tocks
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