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For anyone who's been able to stay up with everything that Aaron Gillespie's been involved in since he departed from Underoath in 2010 you know he's been busy. Between touring with The Almost who released Monster Monster, he's done missions trips and has now released another project, not with The Almost but as a solo artist.

Musically it would be very easy for Aaron to fall into the trap of sounding like The Almost, even though fans will notice influences from previous projects Aaron mostly avoids this pitfall. "All Things" sounds more like a power rock opener than a worship song, Gillespi's take on the modern worship favorite "Hosanna" compliments the opener perfectly and may have the strongest influence from Aaron's past projects. I Will Worship You" serves as the albums ballad and "Anthem Song" revigourates the album with a new spark and different instrumentation. Nowhere on the album will the listener find it hard to understand what Gillespie's saying as there is almost a perfect relationship between lyrics and music.

Lyrically fans who are looking for something other than a worship album will be disappointed, however Gillespie's intentions were clear in making this what he called "New Church Music" and lyrically Gillespie never strays from that mark. "You are Jesus" talks about Aaron's struggle to know God in his life, the song draws the listener in to a realization of how Jesus works in our lives. "Anthem Song" makes the listener want to raise their hands to sing. Aaron's version of the old Hymn "Earnestly I seek Thee" draws the listener into a deeper place of worship and is probably the deepest song on the album as a whole.

Fans of The Almost will most likely want to pick up a copy of Anthem Song and I look forward to hearing what he will release in the future as God continues to bless whatever he does.

Jonathan Faulkner, 10/16/11

Record Label: BEC Recordings
Album length: 11 tracks: 43 minutes, 44 seconds
Street Date: March 8, 2011