Uncommon Days (CD)

Name your band after one of the genre’s most revered albums, a critical favorite of Christian alternative music’s pioneering heyday in spite of only modest commercial success, and you’re almost begging for comparison. Borrowing their moniker from The Choir’s 1990 release, Circle Slide, honored by this publication in its book The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music (Integrity), where it came in at No. 53, these guys attempt to step into large artistic shoes, only to partially fill them.

Early in the disc, which was actually co-produced by The Choir’s Steve Hindalong and Derri Daugherty, Circleslide creates a genuinely accessible brand of somewhat predictable modern pop/rock formula songs, featuring the appealing vocals and generic praise song lyrics of Gabriel Martinez. As they progress, you hear them attempt to channel U2 on “Weather Boy (C’mon, C’mon)”—or is that channeling Coldplay channeling U2 on “Possession”? “Noah” and “Meteor” come closest to The Choir, but, again, there’s the inescapable U2 vibe.

The difficulty here is the rather pedestrian lyrical constructions. These are, indeed, “Uncommon Days,” so we need poetic language, not the common religiosity of easy resolutions that dominate here in songs such as “My Reward” and “Walking on the Waves.” Where are the expanding metaphors, the rich subtexts, the subtle artistry that make the songs by this band’s influences so much better than a sermon point put to music?

BRIAN QUINCY NEWCOMB

Review Provided by CCMmagazine.com