Review Summary: "I need a new religion, or I need a new life."
John Mark McMillan is the most famous guy you've never heard of in Christian music. Since penning the modern classic "How He Loves," he has largely lived in the small-but-active indie sector of Christian music, working his way from alternative rock on his debut
The Song inside the Sounds of Breaking Down all the way to folk-tinged indie on his last effort
Borderland. That last one made me fall in love with the man's writing style and his ability to weave seamlessly between complexity and simplicity while never losing lyrical meaning (if you want an example, go listen to "Future/Past").
Because of
Borderland, I preordered
Mercury & Lightning in January. Yes, that's over seven months ago. I have been sitting on pins and needles ever since, waiting to hear how McMillan would continue his stellar career.
From where he was on his last project,
Mercury & Lightning feels like a natural progression musically. McMillan continues on his Springsteen-esque kick that he got onto last time around, but for this album he meshes it even more with some recent indie trends. It's one of the more interesting sounds in Christian music right now with its combination of sonic space and intricate moments. "Wilderlove" portrays this beautifully. It was the first song I heard from the record, and it still sticks out to me months after my first listen. Every minute detail of the instruments enhances the track but doesn't sweep me up into the little things; instead, the details come together and help me focus on the big picture of the song all at once. McMillan also does a really good job here of manipulating the mood of the song through the music in a very similar way to what
Bon Iver does on their self-titled album (and even using some of the same stylistic cues). I love how this music makes me feel, whatever the emotions may be, and for that reason alone this is one of the best albums I've heard all year musically.
Thematically,
Mercury & Lightning has a lot to say that is really apparent when looking at the album's lyrics as a whole. The entire lyrical theme is about chasing: chasing after God (the title track), chasing after material things ("Gods of American Success"), chasing after control ("Enemy, love"), or chasing after everlasting life ("Death in Reverse," "Body in Motion," but neither in the way you might think). Most of the time, this really works because of McMillan's ability to be incredibly poetic while remaining poignant. I have always seen this as his biggest strength because he is able to combine this really well with his mastery of musical mood. He also has a really nice story arc of sorts from the beginning, where someone is questioning their religion and faith in God, to the end, where the narrator finds himself at a place where the divide between heaven and earth seems thinner than ever.
I don't know if I'll be saying that
Mercury & Lightning is my favorite album by McMillan, but it definitely is up there. This is an incredible album that shows a songwriter in control of all dimensions of his craft, from his mastery of creating a musical mood to melding that mood seamlessly with his impactful, genuine, and artistic lyricism. It definitely needs repeat listens to fully grow on the listener, but once it does,
Mercury & Lightning is one stellar album.
My rating: 4.5/5
My favorite tracks: "Enemy, love.," "Wilderlove," "Death in Reverse," "Gods of American Success"
