Sometimes, when we are going through a difficult and painful season, we can't put to words how we feel, but we are able to find a song, poem or Psalm that conveys it exactly. Charlotte-native John Mark McMillan has created the most honest and emotionally bonding album I have heard since Gasoline Heart's debut, You Know Who You Are. It was written and recorded just months after his first independent album was released following the tragic death of one of his close friends in a car accident. As John stated, “This album deals with what happens when you fall apart.”

The pain heard in his Pete Yorn sounding vocals in songs like “Breaking Down” and “Kiss Your Feet” are clearly modern psalms for the youth of America who are broken, searching and in need. The last song on the album, “How He Loves,” was written the very next day after his friend died. It was not written to be a worship song, but churches around the nation have started to include this song in their worship sets. His performance at The Call in Nashville this summer (please check it out on YouTube) where a stadium of people were singing it in unison solidified that a profound spiritual revival is happening when this song is played. (This is the kind of passionate impact that record labels, managers and booking agents attempt to create in marketing plans.)

Near the end of the song, you can hear John crying as he recorded the vocal track. It is one of the most emotionally moving parts I have ever heard on a song or album. To sum it all up, this is what music, poetry and being a Christian should sound like. Yes, the Christian life brings joy, but there is also pain, and this is the sound of breaking down. 

- Brad Moist