DT: JULY 28, 2009
FR: LIBBY COFFEY/SHAZILA MOHAMMED
RELEASE FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM
‘CHURCH MUSIC’
OUT SEPTEMBER 22 VIA EMI’S sixstepsrecords/SPARROW RECORDS
AFTER SELLING OVER ONE MILLION COPIES OF EARLIER ALBUMS
AMBIENT AND ETHEREAL NEW RECORD FEATURES BACKING VOCALS FROM
FLYLEAF’S LACEY MOSELY AND EISLEY’S DUPREE SISTERS
SET FOR EXTENSIVE FALL TOUR
CHURCH MUSIC features seventeen compelling, inimitably progressive electronic rock tracks and runs an impressive 73 minutes long. “It’s our stimulus package,” jokes frontman DAVID CROWDER. “We’re doing our part.” With songs influenced by artists that range from Radiohead to Linkin Park, Portishead to Sigur Rós, CHURCH MUSIC may not be what you expect sonically when you think of one of Christian music’s leading bands. The album even includes a decidedly unique cover of hard rock act Flyleaf’s hit “All Around Me,” and features Flyleaf lead singer Lacey Mosely and the Dupree sisters from Eisley singing background vocals on various tracks.
CROWDER says, “If you have encountered our music, you know that there are a lot of cultural and current influences in it, so to put this music with that term [church music] does a number of things: It helps people understand what our intent is and it lets people understand that the idea of CHURCH MUSIC is really broad and diverse and to me, that’s really exciting.”
He continues, “The one thing non-Christians get perturbed about is that no one is being straightforward with the conversation and that’s when they feel like they’ve been had and go, ‘I fell in love with this band and now I find out they’re just trying to subvert my thinking with this propaganda.’ This project says what it is. It’s CHURCH MUSIC and if you’re straightforward with it, there’s beauty that’s available to people who may not profess the same beliefs.”
Standout offerings on the album include “Eastern Hymn,” “Oh, Happiness” and “God Almighty, None Compares.” For “Eastern Hymn,” CROWDER commissioned the translation of an ancient Chinese prayer book which he’d found last summer on the band’s world tour, and portions of the translated tome appear in the song’s chorus. “Oh, Happiness” sounds like it could have sprung from the minds of the MGMT lads and “has a lot of sunshine in it,” CROWDER enthuses. “God Almighty, None Compares,” is a favorite for Crowder because he loves “the guitar harmony…the guitarmony if you will, and shredding is involved which always makes me smile.” The most surprising album track may be the vocoder-heavy title track, which is “as close to Studio 54 as we could get,” the frontman says with a chuckle. “We wanted to put a party from Studio 54 on the record and I know its going to be really fun live. That song is sort of our pronouncement that CHURCH MUSIC helps us realign ourselves to some of the more beautiful things about our existence.”
Look for the Waco, TX-based DAVID CROWDER*BAND—CROWDER, guitarists JACK PARKER and MARK WALDORP, bassist MIKE DODSON, drummer JEREMY BUSH and electronic violinist MIKE HOGAN—to return to the road this fall. The extensive tour will see the band take a more intimate route than their 2007 tour, playing mostly churches across the country.
CHURCH MUSIC Track Listing
1. Phos Hilaron [Hail Gladdening Light]
2. Alleluia, Sing
3. THE NEARNESS
4. Shadows
5. Eastern Hymn
6. SMS (Shine)
7. THE VEIL
8. We Are Loved
9. All Around Me
10. How He Loves
11. Can I Lie Here
12. Birmingham (We are Safe)
13. Church Music – Dance[!]
14. What A Miracle
15. Oh, Happiness
16. God Almighty, None Compares
17. In the End [O Resplendent Light!]
DAVID CROWDER*BAND Tour Dates:
DATE | CITY/STATE | LOCATION | |
Thu | 7/30 | Salinas, CA | Spirit West Coast – Laguna Seca Raceway |
Thu | 8/6 | Charlotte, NC | Paramount's Carowinds |
Fri | 8/7 | Birmingham, AL | Briarwood Presbyterian Church |
Sat | 8/8 | South Bend, IN | Lindeman Farms |
Fri | 8/14 | El Paso, TX | Ascarate Park |
Fri | 9/11 | Orlando, FL | Rock the Universe – Universal Studios, FL |
Fri | 9/25 | Los Angeles, CA | Youth Specialties – LA Convention Center |
Thu | 10/1 | San Antonio, TX | Summit Christian Center |
Fri | 10/2 | Abilene, TX | Beltway Park Baptist Church |
Sat | 10/3 | Houston, TX | Grace Community Church |
Thu | 10/8 | Las Vegas, NV | Canyon Ridge Christian Church |
Fri | 10/9 | Phoenix, AZ | Phoenix First Assembly |
Sun | 10/11 | Sacramento, CA | Capital Christian Center |
Mon | 10/12 | Modesto, CA | Calvary Temple Church |
Tue | 10/13 | Redding, CA | Redding Convention Center |
Thu | 10/15 | Eugene, OR | First Baptist Church – Eugene |
Fri | 10/16 | Portland, OR | Rolling Hills Community Church |
Sat | 10/17 | Seattle, WA | Christian Faith Center |
Sun | 10/18 | Abbotsford, BC | Abbotsford Pentecostal Assembly |
Mon | 10/19 | Spokane, WA | INB Performing Arts Center |
Tue | 10/20 | Boise, ID | Eagle Christian Church |
Thu | 10/22 | Minneapolis, MN | Hosanna! Lutheran Church |
Fri | 10/23 | Chicago, IL | Harvest Bible Chapel |
Sat | 10/24 | Grand Rapids, MI | Sunrise Community Center |
Sun | 10/25 | Detroit, MI | Woodside Bible Church |
Thu | 10/29 | Dallas, TX | Watermark Community Church |
Fri | 10/30 | Tulsa, OK | Cain's Ballroom |
Thu | 11/5 | Indianapolis, IN | East 91st Street Christian Church |
Fri | 11/6 | Lexington, KY | Southland Christian Church |
Sat | 11/7 | Cincinnati, OH | Landmark Baptist Church |
Sun | 11/8 | Lancaster, PA | Calvary Church – Lancaster |
Thu | 11/12 | Burlington, NJ | Fountain of Life Center |
Fri | 11/13 | New York City, NY | Terminal 5 |
Sat | 11/14 | Springfield, MA | Mass Mutual Center |
Sun | 11/15 | Morgantown, WV | Chestnut Ridge Church |
Tue | 11/17 | Washington, DC | Lisner Auditorium/George Washington Univ. |
Wed | 11/18 | Charlotte, NC | Forest Hill Church |
Thu | 11/19 | Columbia, SC | Shandon Baptist Church |
Fri | 11/20 | Tampa, FL | Countrysde Christian Center |
Sat | 11/21 | Atlanta, GA | Mount Paran Church of God |
Sun | 11/22 | Atlanta, GA | Youth Specialties – GA World Congress Ctr. |
For additional press information on DAVID CROWDER*BAND, contact:
MSO 818-380-0400
Libby Coffey x224, lcoffey@msopr.com
Shazila Mohammed x238, shazila@msopr.com
http://
DAVID CROWDER*BAND RELEASE FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘CHURCH MUSIC’ OUT SEPTEMBER 22 VIA EMI’S sixstepsrecords/SPARROW RECORDS AFTER SELLING OVER ONE MILLION COPIES OF EARLIER ALBUMS; AMBIENT AND ETHEREAL NEW RECORD FEATURES BACKING VOCALS FROM FLYLEAF’S LACEY MOSELY AND EISLEY’S DUPREE SISTERS; SET FOR EXTENSIVE FALL TOUR