If you only buy this album for one song it would have to be 'I Rejoiced.' And for that song alone you just might buy this album.
Ascents is an independent release from Dennis Bayne, a.k.a. Dennis Culp, the trombone player from Five Iron Frenzy. But don't expect any ska or lots of horns. The album is full of rock-pop choruses that put music to the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120-131.
5 Minute Walk producer-extrordinaire, Masaki, shares production credits with Dennis (Bayne? Culp?), which keeps this project from slipping to the truly independent. Overall the production quality is a notch down from the standard.
'I Rejoiced' is the only reason you need to buy this album. The drum-driven chorus will get stuck in your head faster than any current radio hit. But if you expect more of the same from the rest of the album you'll be disappointed.
The rest of the album features more of Dennis' quality writing and is often reminiscent of Brave Saint Saturn, the recent side project of Five Iron Frenzy members Dennis, Reese Roper, and Keith Hoerig. But musically the songs don't have the punch of Brave Saint Saturn. It's a valiant effort that unfortunately for Dennis proves the power of collaboration.
Those who take the intimate time with Ascents will probably appreciate it. But if you're giving it a quick listen and expecting it to compete with the rest of your collection it will easily be lost in the shuffle. You'll pull it out once in a while to listen to 'I Rejoiced' and wonder what happened to the rest of the album.
