hop, but the buildings rise in various
constructions—flow, acoustic guitar, old
school gospel songs, bluegrass, rap, and
all with rhymes that rise like yellow he-lium-filled balloons from every window
and door. In the middle of the town is
the mayor, Heath McNease. McNease’s
debut album, The Heath McNease Fan Club
Meets Tonight, puts his little town firmly on
the map and marks it with a little star so
people know that his is a place to stop on
their way to wherever they may be going. With tenacity and a sense of humor
akin to John Reuben, McNease treats his
beats with respect while not giving them
the final say—there are times when a
Jack Johnson styled acoustic guitar takes
the reigns to serve the flow. With the Ska
beats and laidback hip-hop feel, “Where
I’m Not Wanted” will be a youth group
most wanted song. Then Mc Nease sounds
a little more like Slim Shady on songs like
“So So” and “Second Wind” where he
carries himself on the grittier side. It’s
the tightly wound lyrics that stand out
here, and the easy maneuvers he’s able to
make from tuneful to rapcore in a matter of track minutes. Whereever the fan
club is meeting tonight, they better have
plenty of space; it’s going to be a packed
house.
WL TAKEAWAY: Here is upbeat hip-hop with a
pop understanding for followers of guys like John
Reuben and tobyMac.
M YSPACE.COM/HEATHMCNEASE
AUSTINS
BRIDGE
Austins Bridge
Daywind Records
In an age where Christian artists
are continually skirting the furthest
reaches with their rock images and personas, there is a clean cut core to the
straight-forward country pop that Austins Bridge, a trio from Nashville, brings
to the world of Christian music. Mike
Kofahl and Jason Baird connected with
former Crabb Family keyboardist Justin
Rivers and together they found a sound
polished to an immaculate T with their
smooth harmonies, triple threat vocal approach and heavy reliance on old
school bluegrass tones mixed with the
new wave of country pop.
The rootsty bluegrass feel is the
standout factor with Austins Bridge, though
they may have a more mainstream ap-
peal when it’s subdued. But the Kentucky presence can be felt throughout
their debut. Check out “He’s in Control”
for the best Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
haunting moment where the drawn out
choruses and slow but steady tempo lets
the passion of their voices work their
way in to your soul. Then go to “I Am
Free,” an upbeat celebration/evangelis-tic tune of God’s saving grace. Austins
Bridge makes music that is already in
our blood; when you hear them, their
pop charm combined with the throwback to a down-home Sunday school
feel, it will win you over.
continued on page 52
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