Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Listeners who have been keeping up with the gospel scene recently know there’s a lot of amazing talent coming to the surface at the moment, and most of all, its vocalists like Jekalyn Carr we’ve been talking about the most, whose new single “I Believe God” is earning a lot of hype around the gospel underground this season – and rightly so. In this latest release to feature Carr at the microphone, her vocals are joined by a powerful instrumental framework that is as steeped in as much of a gospel concept as it is the foundations of an epic classical/pop crossover, and while it’s a bit progressive for the mainstream, it’s a listen I would recommend at any rate.
Vocal prowess is one thing, but if you thought that it was the only element of grandeur this singer/songwriter was going to be conjuring up and inserting in her latest release, you’d better think again. “I Believe God” is weighted by some of the more fluid instrumental harmonies I’ve heard out of a hybrid single this April, and although they’re punctuated by a rigid percussive attack on the back side of the track via the drums, there aren’t any hiccups between the play button and the climax in the chorus at all.
Emotion isn’t sourced from the lyrics exclusively in “I Believe God,” but instead from the relationship that Carr forms with her choir and backing band throughout the whole of the single. Conventionally, harmonies are responsible for upping the chills factor in the gospel genre, and to some extent, this is the lone area in which our leading lady is following a formula familiar to most on the FM dial. What separates her efforts from that of the mainstream player is the detail with which she uses to convey deeper emotionality in these verses, each of which is conversely synchronized with the grooves to yield a feeling of painful retrospection. Multilayered? Of course, but not to the point of sounding overwhelming or inaccessible to the average listener.
As far as the production quality is concerned for “I Believe God,” this is a top-to-bottom gem that has a great polish nonintrusive of harmonies, and organic instrumentation in the mix. There’s nothing worse than running into a fat band of synthetic melodicism amidst an otherwise rustic and intimate instrumental backdrop, but for Jekalyn Carr, inviting that kind of a mess into her latest single wouldn’t appear to have even crossed her mind – or at least that’s how this finished product sounds.
You don’t have to be well-versed in the collective works of Jekalyn Carr or contemporary gospel to appreciate what she’s offering here, but for those who are aware of her background and eager to hear what she can do in a nonrestrictive environment, “I Believe God” is a big turning point in the history of her professional life. She’s got competition coming at her from all sides of the underground this spring, but if Carr is going to be offering this kind of quality almost every time she gets into the booth, I don’t know that her indie status will hold up for much longer as her exposure increases.
Christian Vedder
