Everything Sad is Coming Untrue - Jason Gray

Jason Gray released his acclaimed debut “All the Lovely Losers” in early 2007, and though it was critically successful, it has taken him a good 2 ½ years to come up with a whole album’s worth of tunes. To be honest, that usually means one of two things: Either the CD will be good because the artist has put a lot of effort into it, or it will be a slump because the artist couldn’t come up with anything worthwhile to say. “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue” is a mix of both, but he, for the most part, maintains the style of his past work while incorporating some true substance as well. The lead single “For the First Time Again” is great example of this, with a catchy melody and powerful lyrics that are radio, and certainly hit, ready. Since the beginning of the disc, almost every track brings another three minutes of unblemished, easy listening pop music, and that is one of the CD’s greatest accomplishments. From the Jason Mraz tinged “Help Me, Thank You”, to the just guitar-and-voice ballad “How I Ended Up Here,” Jason takes biblical standards and diverts them to some of the best sounding music I’ve heard in a while. And while not every song is a gem here, I can hardly think of one that falls short of the rest. “Fade With Our Voices” is another easy accessible tune that may sound similar to Casting Crowns’ “Stain Glass Masquerade,” but in the long run, a single sound alike doesn’t define an album as whole. The title track is another pop/rock number that, while it has an upbeat and somewhat happy melody, touches on some serious topics, the second verse as follows: From the war torn city streets / To the trash the slum dogs eat / It seems so hard to believe / And meaningless to pray / But in Rwanda's killing fields / Forgiveness blooms and heals. So, with all that said, I think it is apparent enough that I think this one is worth a look, and hopefully a lot more. Destined to be Jason’s most successful project to date, “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue” could soon be the cornerstone of his career, and maybe even the Christian pop genre as a whole. ~ Christian Lingner

4 of 5 stars