After dumping his label, management, and publishing deals last year, Wes King kicks off his Sparrow debut, A Room Full Of Stories, with the aptly-titled "Simplify." Simplify he did, dumping as well the synth-drenched, session player-dominated sound of his last two discs in favor of a stripped-down, folksier approach, courtesy new producers Wayne Kirkpatrick (Susan Ashton, Kim Hill, and the upcoming Amy Grant release) and Ben Wisch (David Wilcox). The result is his best work yet.
Perhaps it's easiest to dissect this project along "who-produced-what" lines. Three of Kirkpatrick's tracks kick things off, a couple of which sound too Wayne-ish-particularly "Simplify." While it's not a bad song (it's actually pretty cool), it sounds like it could just as easily have been on Susan Ashton's last disc. Other tunes sound more like they belong here. Best among them is the first single, "Remember," which showcases King's simplified sound and recalls his salvation experience, stressing the practical (and Scriptural) importance of remembering what God's done in the past. On the chorus, King sings:
Remember When a sea was in between Me and where I needed to be free And then there In the moment of my need The ocean floor went dry You divided the sea And saved my life.
The Ben Wisch-produced tracks are generally more successful in my view, bringing something new to the table by blending folk and Christian pop sounds, while remaining faithful to King's past work (and the genre). Wisch pairs King with Jonatha Brooke's sweet background vocals and guitars, basses, etc., from Shawn Colvin's sideman/producer, John Leventhal. There are also some jaw-dropping guitar parts on these songs, though they are so subtly produced, they don't seem too showy. The spirited "Nineveh" and "Good News," which puts Philippians 4:8 into practice, balance the tender "Thought You'd Be Here," about King's and his wife's longing to have a child, and "Magnificent Defeat," a Buechner-influenced tune about finding purpose through brokenness. Another high point is the album's gentle closer "Grace," which fades out with a verse from "Amazing Grace." It's these tracks, along with "Remember," that I keep coming back to.
A Room Full Of Stories clearly stands out for its thoughtful songwriting and excellent guitar work, and because it breaks new ground while remaining accessible. Sounds like a winner to me.
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