Album Review: In Christ Alone - Modern Hymns of Worship - Bethany Dillon & Matt Hammitt

I mentioned this album a few posts back, but I'd like to give it a quick review.

In Christ Alone - Modern Hymns of Worship by Bethany Dillon & Matt Hammitt
This is an interesting project - it's a worship project where 2 artists (Bethany Dillon and Matt Hammit, of Sanctus Real) cover worship songs written by other musicians. What drew my attention was their choice of songs - a number of the modern hymns that have been written by the likes of Stuart Townend, Tim Hughes, and Matt Maher. They're some really solid worship songs...in fact, I'd argue that they have some of the richest lyrics of the worship songs being written today. So why re-record them? Some songs, like "In Christ Alone" have been very widely sung by congregations and covered by lots of artists. However, the majority of the songs on this album are not as widely-known or sung.

Two things stand out when I listen to this album: first, the powerful lyricism/excellent song-writing and second, creative musical production. It's a great combination. Not all of the arrangements were done with congregational singing in mind...but that doesn't diminish my appreciation for the album. It has already been one that I've worshipped with in my car.

Stand-out tracks for me:

• "Clinging to the Cross"
• "Jesus is Lord"
• "The Wonder of the Cross"

(I will say that a few songs fall short - the children's chorus in "God of Justice" and "Adoration")

It's probably not an album for everyone, but if you're interested in worship music that sounds a bit different that most recent albums, I recommend giving this one a listen. (I'm not going to lie - having some worship music in a female vocal range is one of my favorite things. Self-centered as it may be, it's true.)

Other recent albums I've been listening to:

• Great God Who Saves - Laura Story
• Live from Las Vegas - Central Worship
• Spring EP - Jon Foreman
• Me and You and the World - Dave Barnes