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Jon Simpson is the real deal. The California
native uses his vast array of talent to do what he feels compelled to
do on this earth – creative reverent songs for our Lord and to
share them with others. On Dark Gives Way, Simpson’s fourth
album, he offers words of encouragement, unity, worship and
introspection.
On all nine of these original tunes, Simpson
varies his vocal stylings, the instrumentation and the song structures
so each track has its own unique qualities. Dark Gives Way opens with
“Make Us One,” a nicely stripped down acoustic praise and
worship formula song along the veins of Chris Tomlin or David Crowder.
Simpson’s songs are never that simplistic and work equally well
with encouraged audience participation or not. His voice has a deep,
earthy tone when he sings in the lower register and then opens up with
pure clarity when he sings higher. Never does his voice sound stretched
or thin.
The lyrics are highly accessible but
intelligent at the same time. Simpson utilizes different songwriting
techniques such as repetition and melodic “catchiness” to
keep listeners attention, as in the chorus to “Altar” where
he sings, “all He has; all He is; all, He gives.” These
lyrics change slightly as the song progresses in its language tense and
pronoun usage giving further credit to Simpson’s songwriting
prowess.
“Supranatural” displays an
excellent dichotomy of musical styles with the track opening with a
heavy barrage of electric guitars and Simpson singing low and slow
underneath the wall of sound. Then in the chorus his voiced is lifted
up and switches to a major key where he sings of God’s glory.
This well-produced modern rock sound is continued in
“Antidote” with its fast-paced guitar-driven tempo and
overdubbed vocals. This track draws comparison with early Switchfoot
with its relevant message and radio friendly chorus.
Not only is Simpson the composer and
vocalist, he is also the musician and plays every instrument on the
album, from guitars to drums – to the cello featured in
“Daysong (My Only You)”. This quiet ballad has the lovely
bass instrument laying down the pedal tones while the acoustic guitar
plays broken chords dovetailing into each measure with Simpson’s
clear voice layered on top.
Dark Gives Way ends as subtlety as it began,
this time with delicate piano chords serving as the only accompaniment
in “Highest Praise” where Simpson delivers a heartfelt,
awestruck hymn of thanks to God Almighty. Simpson’s music is
inspiring and it is wonderful that he is given the chance to share his
songs with others through international mission work. He offers more
than just call and response cookie cutter praise and worship; he offers
well-crafted, thought-provoking worship songs with substance. God
willing, let us hope Simpson is given the chance to continue sharing
his music and creating more amazing songs.
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