Whence He Came hails from Hong Kong, and they are surely going to make a name for music from Hong Kong when this CD gets out into people's hands. Their guitar-driven, beautifully harmonized, catchy tunes create their debut album Still Amidst the Traffic, and it will grab your attention right off, so prepare to be hooked.
As it says in their bio, "the group formed in late 1999 out of a desire to write music that represented both their diverse culture - the band is made up of members with Chinese, Indian, Filipino, and American backgrounds - and the faith by which they breathe." The members (Joshua Wong, Ephraim Bano, Joel Deerwester and Suhail Stephen) have certainly accomplished this on a grand scale. Although their sound is more like typical American/Canadian guitar rock (not something you may expect from Asia - in case you're thinking Indian sitars), they manage to have their individual input in it through their vocals and lyrics, and show that Asian music can be just as great, if not better than any other music. Each member's ambition and awesome talent shows their freshness and draws attention to the Asian Christian music market, which is barely noticed in other countries, especially in America and Canada.
Every song is complete with powerful guitar work, forceful drums and passionately sung lyrics (all written by the band). The lyrics aren't "preachy"; in fact, the average listener may not even realize they are Christian. Their market isn't the Christian scene in particular, but each song carries a positive message, bringing out their strong Christian influence in their writing. And by not following trends in the music market (the fashion, the fake rock-stardom, etc.), Whence He Came has succeeded in what music should be - something people can sit down and listen to over and over and thoroughly enjoy from start to finish. Kudos to them!
4 tocks
