Watermark

Item: Constant
Author: Curt McLey

Constant

(2002)

Reviewed by Curt McLey

Discogs Apple Music Amazon Music YouTube Music

Label Rocketown RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2002

adult contemporary ccm pop rock worship

Here's a stark confession. I'm not a fan of modern worship music. It's not that I'm offended by omnipresent worship projects; I'm bored by them. Homogenized lyrical content and song construction has made this subset of Christian music tiresome and tedious. While I don't question the heart, sincerity, or effort of these worship projects, I'm just not generally inspired by what I hear. In contrast, when something fresh and original appears, it stands out like a full moon in the country.

Rocketown's Nathan and Christy Nockels, a husband and wife duo better known as Watermark, have risen above the clamor of sameness with their third recording called Constant. Produced by Nathan Nockels, Constant evokes passionate praise for God, not with lofty and prestigious words and phrases, but with vulnerability and introspection. Traditional sounding lyrics laced with pomp and pageantry are fine. Nevertheless, my soul is stirred most intensely by lyrics which contrast human frailty with God's character and attributes. Indeed, appreciating the astounding divergence between God's glory and my fallibility is an effective state in which to worship.

It's worth the price of admission just for the privilege of hearing Christy Nockels' angelic voice. It's an amazing instrument, alternating between a powerful beauty and an ethereal, almost celestial ambiance. The counterpoint between these extremes is stunning as she transitions effortlessly between the two. There's never a hint that Christy might lose her balance or miss a note. She belts the words out with a confidence and poise that belie her professional experience.

After all, the Nockels are relative newcomers to Christian music. They met at Estes Park, Colorado in 1993 at the Christian Artists Seminar, an annual gathering of aspiring artists and songwriters. After marriage and a move to Texas, the Nockels led weekly worship for 3,000 adults at Metro Bible Study at Houston's First Baptist Church. 1998 brought a recording contract with Rocketown, the label founded by Nathan's mentor, Michael W. Smith. Thus, the birth of Watermark.

The title cut "Constant" serves its purpose as musical cornerstone. It's a medium tempo song with a steady, reliable beat providing melodic illustration of God's never changing nature. The words describe many of God's attributes, with special focus on His immutable character. Changeable as we are, we can always count on the constancy of our Lord.

The second cut, "Seek Me" is written as if God is singing to us, with encouragement to "seek me and when you seek me you will find me and when you find me you will know me and I will not hold anything from you." I didn't know God spoke in run-on sentences! Writing from God's perspective is a songwriting technique that Keith Green often used effectively, but it's tricky to pull off. The songwriter is literally speaking for God. Executed ineffectively it sounds silly and is often doctrinally deficient.

"Seek Me" provides an interesting instrumental journey. Opening with synthesizer sounds and laid back cymbals, the song quickly moves to a simple, but compelling and memorable acoustic guitar lick. I can't resist the urge to crank the volume at this point. It's here that Christy begins the vocals. The drums maintain a driving beat, complementing, not overwhelming. As the chorus reaches its peak, a funky synthesizer sound suddenly appears. If isolated, the synthesizer might sound like something lifted from a Rick James or KC and The Sunshine Band record, but as an embellishment in an instrumentally eclectic song, it just works.

"Friend for Life" reaches out and grabs me like one too many glasses of wine. It begins as a nice song, pretty but simple and not noticeably intoxicating. Then, before I realize it, I feel an intense compulsion to lift my hands and sway in time to the music. Is it the music or is it the Holy Spirit? Gosh, I don't know, but it sure feels good! At 2:11 into the song, the choir joins in. At this point, I feel like standing. I want to hug somebody. And Jesus' name is mentioned no less than thirteen times. But who's counting? Surely not Nathan and Christy! How refreshing to listen to Christian music that doesn't dilute the gospel in ambiguity.

"Holy" is lifted from Revelation Four. Of all the songs in this collection, it's probably closest to the humdrum worship genre I've grown to dislike. Lyrically, this song is an also-ran. Still, with the soaring choir and strength of Christy's vocals, I must concede that it's beautiful.

Forgive me, but something about Nathan and Christy Nockels reminds me of The Captain and Tennille, the wildly successful Grammy winning husband and wife pop duo from the 70's. Toni Tennille was gregarious, talkative and the lead singer. Daryl (The Captain) was restrained but brilliant as a producer and musician. Their respective talents complemented each other. So it is with Watermark.

Although Nathan's primary singing role is as a background vocalist, his outstanding tenor opens "Made for You". It's an intimate ballad which explores communication styles between men and women. Nathan confides, "I was totally uncomfortable recording 'Made for You'. We are always vulnerable in our lyrics, but it was hard for me to actually say these things. That's the first time I ever personally felt that." The blending of the couple's voices on this cut is nothing short of stunning.

"Noah's Song" started as a lullaby to the couple's son but evolved into a life song for the family. Christian parents everywhere will relate. If you can make it through this one without the proverbial lump in the throat, then you have a harder heart than mine.

Have you become lost in the maze of worship music, crashing into sonic parity at every turn? It's become understandably implausible to believe that a Christian artist could achieve radio airplay, commercial success, and artistic integrity with one project. Thankfully, implausible doesn't mean "impossible." Watermark's first two releases, Watermark and All Things New combined to sell in the range of 250,000 units. Although solid efforts, they most certainly aren't in the same league as Constant. We could also say the same about the bulk of worship product on the market today.

4.5 tocks