Watermark

Item: All Things New
Author: Godfrey C.

All Things New

(2000)

Reviewed by Godfrey C.

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music

Label Rocketown RecordsReAL Magazine2000

adult contemporary ccm worship

For Watermark it has been a very exciting year. The husband and wife team of Christy and Nathan Nockels have been doing it all: from tours with Point of Grace and the "Night in Rocketown" to travelling with the Passion ministry all over the United States including preparations for One Day.

In the meantime, they have recorded and released their second album, All Things New. And while their sound has expanded to incorporate more varied musical aspects, the heart of Watermark remains as pure as ever. The depth, clarity and truth of their lyrics shine forth as psalms of heart-felt gratitude, thankfulness and praise. However, they accomplish this without the predictability of many of the praise choruses that we tend to aimlessly and thoughtlessly drone in our own worship services. And yet the simplicity of even the melodic tunes remain so that Watermark, through their music, invites you into the lifestyle of genuine praise and worship that God calls all of us to.

They begin with, appropriately, a track entitled 'All Things New,' which reminds us that God is in the business of redeeming and transforming, even in our own lives, even in this CD. To me, this is a great call to not get so used to worship music that it loses the newness of life that true worship is to bring.

Another touching song flows out of a tragedy in their own lives. 'Glory Baby' describes the pain and sadness of a miscarriage (The Nockels have suffered through two in 1999, but are expecting another in July 2000). Some of the lyrics include strings of hope: "But baby let sweet Jesus hold / you 'till mom and dad can / hold you / You'll just have heaven before we do."

A song brimming with worship is 'Lord You are my Stronghold.' The text is based on Psalm 27. They describe this song as expressing "all the things that God is, instead of focusing on all the things that we're not."

My personal favorite track on the CD is a short medley of 'Who Am I' (written by Watermark, but originally recorded by Point of Grace) and 'Grace Flows Down' (written by Louie Giglio and David Bell of Passion). This song seems to flow between two points, our identity and God's grace, and intertwines them so intimately that it becomes impossible to think of one without the other. Also, by borrowing lyrics from two standard hymns, one begins to see the depth and reality of Watermark's heritage of faith.

Overall, this CD is about one thing: Worship. For the most part, Watermark does what many praise choruses and praise bands do not--they take the focus off of themselves (or us) and place it back on the work of Christ. To me, this is both a refreshing and much needed change.