Night Beat Rewind: January 2013

The time for the first edition of Night Beat Rewind for 2013 is at hand. January was a very active month this year, and that is not always the case. Usually things ramp up slowly. There were forty-five releases this past month, and not  surprisingly, almost all of them went into the initial pool. I'm usually pretty generous this time of the year, and it makes for a lot of work at the end.

As always, we begin with those albums which

Missed The Mark

There were eleven this time around, and remember, these aren't bad releases, just not outstanding. Don't worry, I'll let you know if they stink.

• Awaken Us - The Forgotten 3.75 Emeralds
• Ergo Rex - Breathe In The Roar 3.50 Emeralds
• For A Season - Lion Hearted 3.75 Emeralds
• The Hymns Collective - Season One 3.75 Emeralds
• Junkyard Poets - Mrs. Sophomore  3.50 Emeralds
• Marlo Moore - Simply Marlo Moore 3.75 Emeralds
• OBB - OBB 3.50 Emeralds
• Seven Years - Time to Change 3.50 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Sharkey: 2013 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Wow Gospel 2013 3.75 Emeralds
• Karyn Williams - Only You 3.75 Emeralds

One note. Karyn Williams is just a wider release. It was released back in August 2012, which would have put it in this years running. I Still haven't changed my mind.

Pure Platinum

There were only two releases which were deemed perfect among the month's entries, which is pretty amazing. What's even more amazing is that one of them was a worship album. That just hasn't happened around here. The key to this one is the fact that the album came off as a "Worship Experience", not just as a bunch of worship songs.

• Terra, Terra, Terra - The Space We Create 5 Emeralds
• Kim Walker - Smith - Still Believe 5 Emeralds

Most of the releases, as is always the case, were neither good nor bad, but somewhere in the middle. I like to call these releases

Semi-Precious Metal

As always, there are a lot of these, twenty-one of them this time around.

• Flynn Adam - Do or Die 4.75 Emeralds
• Alert 312 - Vice and Virtue 4.50 Emeralds
• Meredith Andrews - Worth It All 4.75 Emeralds
• Bridgecity - Bridgecity 4.50 Emeralds
• Bridge Music - New Has Come 4.50 Emeralds
• Capital Kings - Capital Kings 4.50 Emeralds
• Carman - Anthems of A Champion 4.25 Emeralds
• Kurt Carr - Bless This House 4.75 Emeralds 
• Casting Crowns - Acoustic Sessions, Volume 1 4.25 Emeralds
• Jason Castro - Only A Mountain 4.50 Emeralds
• Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers - Show Me The Way EP 4.50 Emeralds
• Dynasty - Beyond Measure 4.75 Emeralds
• Colton Dixon - A Messenger 4.50 Emeralds
• The Ember Days - More Than You Think 4.75 Emeralds
• Fiction Family - Fiction Family Reunion 4.75 Emeralds
• Charlie Hall - The Death of Death 4.75 Emeralds
• Hearts of Saints - For All of Us 4.75 Emeralds
• Love and Death - Between Here and Lost 4.75 Emeralds
• Britt Nicole - Gold EP 4.25 Emeralds
• Overcome - No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets 4.25 Emeralds
• Matthew Parker - Meet Your Maker 4.75 Emeralds
• Planetshakers - Limitless 4.75 Emeralds
• Rend Collective Experiment - Campfire: Worship and Community Re-imagined 4.75 Emeralds
• We Came As Romans - Understanding What We've Grown To Be Deluxe 4.75 Emeralds
• Sho Baraka - Talented 10th 4.50 Emeralds
• Starflyer 59 - IAMACEO 4.50 Emeralds
• Chris Tomlin - Burning Lights 4.50 Emeralds
• DA T.R.U.T.H. - Love, Hope, War 4.75 Emeralds
• Twenty One Pilots - Vessel 4.50 Emeralds
• Various - From The Inside Out 4.50 Emeralds
• Various - Worship For Your Family (Yellow) 4.50 Emeralds
• Vota - Love Found Me 4.50 Emeralds
• Wavorly - Something Like Fiction (The Lost Albums) 4.50 Emeralds

 That concludes the January 2013 edition of Night Beat Rewind. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Between the Raindrops

Welcome to the return of Music Video Monday, and the first edition of this regular column for 2013. We shall see how quick we can get up to speed, but at least we have one new video.

Our new video comes from a crossover group by the name of Lifehouse. They released their latest, Almeria, on December 11 of 2012. Their first video for the album is entitled Between the Raindrops and features Natasha Bedingfield.
That pretty much catches us up. I do have a preview of sorts. The electronic group Capital Kings. They release their self-titled debut Tomorrow. This is the Lyric video for I Feel So Alive.


Another Lyric Video Preview. Overcome releases No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets tomorrow, and since this is a Thrash-Metal Band, my usually cool treatment of Lyric Videos is tempered, since it is the only way I will figure out what they're singing. This is Verum.


I think I may have shared this earlier, but I will do so again. Karyn Williams releases her debut Album Only You Tomorrow as well. This is the title video.


That wraps everything up. I hope things pick up soon, or we shall be on a somewhat irregular schedule. No worries, though. If that happens I will fill the space with PVA Video Nominations. See You next Monday. I am Awaiting Your Reply

Music Video Monday: My Name is Eustace

Actually, No, it's not. It's actually Christopher, but I thought I would go with the bizarre intro. Welcome to the Columbus Day Edition of Music Video Monday. In some sense, we will be treading into uncharted territory this week, and will be featuring some videos with "animal Magnetism" so to speak.

We begin with another band which is completely new to The Night Beat. Benjamin Dunn and The Animal Orchestra. They are part of a new wave of bands that are redefining both alternative and synthpop by expertly blending the two groups. From the new release Fable, this is My Name is Eustace.

We continue with Abandoned Pools. No, this isn't swimming pools we're talking about. This is Synthpop with a strong Joy Electric sound mixed with Alternative. This is the title cut for Sublime Currency

We can thank Billboard Magazine for our next video. The magazine named Karyn Williams (the Daughter of Orlando Magic Founder Pat Williams) their Best Bet for Christian Music in 2012. She has a nice voice, and while her debut album Only You didn't impress me enough to make the Platinum Vinyl Pool, she has great potential, and deserved to be included in the Best New Artist Pool at least. This is the video for the Title cut.

We finish with another switch up to a completely different style. Lecrae returned to the studio to tackle matters of Gravity. This is Lord Have Mercy (feat. Tedashii).

We are making some great progress through the fourth quarter videos. We may have to return to them in the future as there are probably videos still in the pipeline. Until then, and until next Music Video Monday, happy Columbus Day and as always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.