Brother's Keeper is one of the latest groups to pattern itself after what has already succeeded: several male singers, harmonies, pop/adult contemporary music designed to attract lite-rock fans and the younger crowd by occasionally inserting a rap edge.
"Cover Me" leads off the disc, and sounds like FFH mixed with DC Talk. "Blonde and Tan" deals with self-image while on earth contrasted with the new body believers will receive in Heaven -- the vocal here is somewhat like Rick Springfield.
"Be Like You" and "Out of this World" both attempt to copy the rap/rock style made famous in CCM circles by DC Talk. Unfortunately, neither is vocally nor musically up to that level. There is a remake of the old White Heart song "In His Love" that breaks no new ground -- the irony is that none of the members of this group are old enough to remember when this song was originally released.
Cover Me employs a sound marketing strategy -- they have created a disc that is half adult contemporary, and half boy band/alternative rock. By doing so, they hope to cross over into several areas of CCM radio. Based on their sound, my bet is that they will succeed in this effort.
Brother's Keeper is somewhat in the Newsong mode, in that the harmonies sound really good, and they often trade leads. To me, though, they sound almost too polished. Cover Me never deteriorates to the level of Backstreet Boys or NSync, but it is no different than most of the fodder served up by most of the Christian radio stations in this country.
2.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Josh McConnellIt's been three years since their self-titled debut release, and now Brother The first time I heard of Brother's Keeper was when they made their first music video ("I Saw Heaven") a couple years ago, and I saw it on a Christian music video show. I enjoyed the song very much, but never really thought about checking out their album. Now after hearing their latest, I just might have to check out…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Jessica HeikoopFrom start to finish, Cover Me, the new album from Brother's Keeper, is a total ear pleaser. With its uplifting lyrics and upbeat tempos, the album is filled with one catchy tune after the other! Starting with "Cover Me," the lively instrumentation includes the use of tambourine, keys, and driven guitars and the lyrics send a great message (also including the spoken Lord's Prayer). It will grab…Similar sounding releases
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