Each song is an hymn. A hymn to melody, a hymn to poetry, a hymn to love, and, for believers, a hymn to God.
This is certainly one of the albums that most impressed me in the last 30 years. It is difficult for me to say whether so many records that marked me in my youth, did so precisely because of mine tender age, propitious to novelty and emotion, witch keep them deep inlay easy, or if this happened because they were, in fact, extraordinary achievements of the prolific 80's and 90's. In other words, if I listened today for the first time so many of the records that at a given moment triggered indelible impressions on me, would I feel the same? Would they achieve the same effect? The impression of music from the 80's and 90's was so deep (probably for both reasons, namely because of its intrinsic combined quality and because of my age at the time), that, apart from the exploration of other more experimental music in other colors, it often resulted from my audiophile facet, I came to think that nowadays good music is no longer made. The advent of rap and the abundance of easy and commercial pop made me think like that. And it took a teenage daughter to discover with her so much talent and so much good music that, after all, continues to be produced. There are actually a lot of people making good music, you just have to be aware. But it's not easy to find an entire album that can be heard from end to end, with each song making us look forward to the next. Feeling the thrill of the touch of beauty in the first chords of each melody, in so many songs, is certainly something rare. And even one or two themes that denote some influence of more populist rhythms and tendencies (such as Turn Your Eyes and Look Up Child - this one giving the album's title), are served to us on the same tray of beauty, with good arrangements and interpretation to match, making me forget my normal aversion to these rhythms that I usually dismiss out of hand.
As for the recording, it is not audiophile quality, although it is a very reasonable quality recording. But I, who am eager, would like to be able to have the choir closer to me and less indented, even though in reality the choir is normally presented in the background. But there are still few audiophile sound technicians.
And then there is the Voice! Have you noticed that true talent has this absolute way of presenting itself? That is, the genius of composing divine melodies is not enough. On many occasions, as in the case of Lauren Daigle, it comes with the complete package, with a voice that is almost always of a distinct timbre and has unusual abilities to handle the entire range of frequencies without difficulty. This gives the music a feeling for unique interpretations in which we feel that the emotion of the message was conveyed to us in a complete and unparalleled way. And we feel that the songs were born perfect and we have difficulties in imagining them sung by others, and when that happens it's just to confirm what we already took for granted.
Oh, and then we still have the figure! Sometimes she appears stripped of showy clothes, makeup or special props, sometimes on the contrary she appears distinct and beautiful like a true princess, shining like a Cinderella.
I almost feel bad mentioning this or that song, but the feeling of well-being I experience when I listen to Everything is indescribable. It's a complete filling that totally satisfies me. And what about the melancholy of Remember, only broken by the chilling chorus? And the melody and poetry of Love Like This, which at a certain point hits us like a bolt of lightning that runs through us chilling in the clamor of Halleluja. Revel Hear sings in a sublime and beautiful way the humility of those who bow to the Divine.
Perhaps not everyone appreciates these and other wonderful creations by Lauren Daigle precisely because of the religious facet of the lyrics. The classification of Christian Rock contains in itself something derogatory. For me, who listen to music for the sake of music, without prejudice of any kind, on the contrary, it makes me miss the faith that inhabits this album from the first to the last theme. Not that foolish faith that blinds so many and that everything dries up around it, but a positive faith, a faith that gives meaning to life and makes us walk towards something bigger and better. But if I haven't found that Faith yet, songs like Rescue at least make me believe that it's possible to make the world a better place to live and that maybe it's still worth believing in people!
Listen to this record over and over again and let yourself be carried away by the emotion and let yourself be touched by the power of the beauty.
