Fear Inside Our Bones The Almost Tooth and Nail “When my son was born, I was right in the middle of writing this record … I watched him take his first breath, and it was this overwhelming feeling that we’re all born into a world that’s sinful and dirty. We’re all born with this fear of the unknown and this fear of saying yes and taking a step” –Aaron Gillespie. This unquestionably emotional experience led Gillespie to pen some of the most haunting confessional songs released on a major Christian label in a long fortnight on The Almost’s new LP, Fear Inside Our Bones, as he seems to marry the cathartic thump of his former band, Underoath, with a southern twang, creating some of the most compelling, heart pounding rock & roll in recent memory. The band, thankfully, plays it raw, real, and with few if any overdubs as the band recorded the album mostly in one take live in the studio. This certainly lends additional fervor to the band’s lyrics, which are a perfect mixture of clearly spoken Christ-centered sentiment, laced with the authenticity of real, human experience. As such, a confession like that found in the title
track: “Don’t look to me for hope / I’m Lost. I’m just like you / Don’t look to me for freedom / There is a real way out” has a chance to impact those who are actually hurting as it shares a sentiment all humans feel. Likewise with “Love Is Coming Down”, where Gillespie lays himself bare: “I will always try and say the truth at any cost / At the core of my madness / There’s a hope I can’t hide / waiting for me to let it out / Even in all the sickness / The reality comes alive / Dust yourself off / Love is coming down.” It is refreshing to see a writer so compellingly and convincingly essay the very essence of what drives their life and their work. The fact that this may drive a questioning listener right to the cross of Christ is a testimony to the honesty with which The Almost approach their craft. This Side of Heaven David Harsh www.davidharsh.com Having spent a large portion of his life in Christian music ministry, often as a clinician at various Christian music conferences, David Harsh has impressed many with his talent as a
guitarist, as well as his formally trained voice. He also is a compelling speaker who clearly loves what he does. With This Side of Heaven, Harsh unleashes the singer/songwriter lurking beneath the classically trained clinician. Trading in acoustic folk/pop with a few forays into light funk (the humorous paean to the Easter/Christmas church-going crowd, “Twice a Year”) and light rock/worship (“You Alone”) Guitar aficionados will love the rhythmic complexity of “My Song” and it’s opening instrumental riff, while anyone with a heart will be affected by the tender, deeply personal, “I’ll Tell You Now”, a song Harsh wrote for his father when the family was battling cancer, which effectively conveys why it is important to say the things you need to say to someone before it is too late. With very simple, spare arrangements, the charms of This Side of Heaven may be purposefully modest, but they are very real indeed.
Shawn McLaughlin is a hard working dedicated, tireless worshipper of Christ
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