Warr Acres “Future” Album Review

Prime Cuts:  The Anchor (Found in You), Chains We Wore, Future

Warr Acres isn't one to jump on the latest bandwagon of electronica meets contemporary worship.  With church teams like Hillsong Young and Free, Soulfire Revolution, and even Bethel Music taking worship music to heightened beats, Warr Acres strikes the right balance between beat driven burners and soaring reflective worship ballads a la Darlene Zschech, Kristene DiMarco and Christy Nockels.  "Future" is this Oklahoma City church team's fourth album and it's also their most mature album to date.  Here the songs canvas a broader spectrum of styles from electronica to rock to pop to a surprisingly large number of worship ballads.  Lyrically, the team show growth too as these 11 newly written cuts echo more of Scripture manifest through more thoughtfully nuanced motifs.

Warr Acres represents the worship ministry of Victory Church and it features the lead vocals of of Chris Crow and Lael Ewing as well as offerings from Oscar Lemuel and Aubree Huffman, all of whom are worship leaders on a weekly basis at their home church.  Conspicuously missing is the voice of former lead singer Kristy Starling, though Starling shows up as the co-writer of the song "Fighting for Me."  Their passion for Christ, reaching people beyond the four walls of the church and bringing hope to the hurting and hopeless are undeniable in every song.

Flourished with a thick veneer of Spartan synth driven beats and lots of orotund-sounding "ooh oohs," "Finding Freedom" is what you would expect as an album opener.  It's a sparkling engaging and an energetically youthful call of thanksgiving to Christ for the freedom He gives.  "The Anchor (Found in You)," a song inspired by the church's senior pastor's message, is itself a powerhouse sermon put into music.  Calling to mind Taya Smith of Hillsong UNITED, the female lead here does a convincing job in drawing us to trust in Jesus in what is a prime cut of the record.  "Chains We Wore," lyrically reminds us of Bethel Music's "No Longer Slaves" and relatively, "Chains We Wore" is just as good with "in Your name the crippled rise... in Your name the thief belongs" being a gem of a line.

Another highlight is the title cut "Future."  Featuring a piano and some heartfelt vocals about entrusting our futures and their unknown variables to God, songwriters might do well to learn that less sometimes is more. "Fighting for You," a co-write from Kristy Starling, has a more ethereal feel with its stirring strings is also noteworthy.  However, some of the other ballads seem to follow along the same template that they tend to flow one into another sounding a tad repetitive. More pleonastic and more thoughtful lyrically is the middle-of-the-road sounding "Arrows."  Team member Oscar Lemel is to be congratulated for waxing poetry with poignant Biblically grounded truth of how God's word can pierce our hearts a la Hebrews 4:12.

Though "Future" is by no means the perfect worship record, it's Warr Acres best album to date.  With well-crafted songs that show theological gravitas and emotional depth donned with various musical styles, this worship team definitely shows promise and a bright future as far as worship music is concerned.

 

 

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