Okay, I admit it--I'm a sucker for bands with cool names and album titles. The problem usually is that along with off-the-wall titles come pretty off-the-wall lyrics which, while attempting to be poetic, end up being total nonsense. I can point to countless CD's in my collection that have fallen prey to this trend. I call it the "I'm a Christian but I don't want to tell anyone point blank" syndrome. Every once in a while, however, you do get an album which finds that great mesh of artistic lyrics and overwhelming hope in our Christ Jesus. Villanelle's Pinwheels and Orange Peels is one such album.
When I first put the CD on I was greeted with a very cool sounding progressive guitar riff which had me humming from the start. The first song, "Call Me Christian," comes out and sets the mood for the whole album. On top of the great guitar work, Michael Johnston, the lead singer, bellows "Call me Christian," as the background vocals sing "Selah Yahweh." The song is catchy, artistic, and outspoken. All of this worried me. You see, I've noticed that most albums with very cool first songs go downhill quickly, but once again this album proved to be an exception to the rule. The next song, "Lookout Mountain" continues where the first song left off--nothing earth shattering about the song, but it does contain some very nice guitar. Once again the vocals are done wonderfully, including an amazing note hit by Johnston.
The next song, "Alice Fell," is basically a piano-driven ballad. The lyrics are absolutely amazing. The liner notes say the song is inspired by a poem of the same name by William Wordsworth. The story of grace touched me. I could go on about every song, but I will stop there.
Villanelle's Pinwheels and Orange Peels is an album that is definitely worth your time to check out. My only question is where I can see these guys live. By the sound of it, it would be a cool show.
