Israel and New Breed

“A Deeper Level”

Integrity Music

17 tracks @ 79:10

Grade = C-

            I love the music on this record.  Its fusion of various styles, including world and funk, give this group a unique sound in CCM.

            According to their PR material, Israel and New Breed fasted for 40 days prior to recording this project.  The hope was that the songs would lead listeners into worship but also into acts of compassion and justice.  That’s where this record really disappoints.

            No doubt the songs here are worship in nature; however they are hardly “deeper” than the band’s previous works.  Worship music in and of itself is not bad, but I’ve heard of all of this before in other genres.   Several songs get repetitive to the point of being monotonous.

            The only real call to action on this record is shallow, misogynistic rhetoric.  Calling out “Let’s end abortion” from the concert stage to believers is no action at all.  Even if abortion were made illegal in this country, abortion is not going to go away, history is clear on that.  Real action and real justice and real acts of compassion are, for example, pressuring our elected leaders to end the unjustified war in Iraq.  Hear me out on this one because if someone brings their politics into my home, I’m going to reply. 

            What if .005 percent (that’s less than one percent) of the money wasted in Iraq (read the GAO reports) was spent, instead, on counseling and support services, on residential facilities, adoption services; you know, really meeting the needs of women who find themselves in a crisis situation.  That’s not hollow rhetoric; that’s offering real action that can lead to real differences.

            As a person of color, given that Israel Houghton would not have enjoyed full civil rights to marry in this country 100 years ago, his call to deny a class of people their civil rights is hypocrisy at its worst.

            Instead of going to a deeper level, this record serves as a cultural wedge.  We don’t need wedges, we don’t need to have the concert stage to be used as a bully pulpit, we need authentic compassion. 

On a final note, other reviewers in two “major” Christian publications fail to even note the stances taken on social issues that are in this record.  Even if you are in total agreement with what this artist says, I think that such an omission is misleading and a disservice to those interested in this artist’s music.

Rob S.

http://www.newbreedmusic.com/