The Light Meets the Dark - Tenth Avenue North

Tenth Avenue North has only been around for two years, but looking at their achievements and public appeal, you would think them veterans to the industry. Three smash hits and a chart topping album under their belts already, this trio invites their fans to try out their sophomore effort “The Light Meets the Dark” this week, the album is by now one of the most anticipated of this season. While their first disc focused mainly on Christ and His love, this second attempt changes direction and looks at personal resurrection and redemption. “We wanted it to be a collision between our hearts and God’s truth.” Says lead singer Mike Donehey. “His grace collides with the dark inside of us. His blood can cover us and I’m trying to call people out and say ‘Look, please do not hide your darkness. Expose that to the light.’ I know that’s the scariest thought, but its where freedom and healing starts to take place. It’s where it all starts to happen.”

This brings us to the kickoff track and lead single “Healing Begins. Taking that message and combining it with a mid-paced tempo, this featured song is one of the best here, and will be extremely conversational and relatable to the listener. With a very heart to heart feel, the lyrics contain one of the most positive aspects to this music, and the fans will find the emotional depth and overall closeness much more attainable on this time around. Another top-notch highlight comes soon thereafter with “You Are More,” and again, the hearer will find themselves draw into the song, and they will be able to find comparisons in their own lives as well.

Probably my personal favorite on the album (they are all good!) is “The Truth is Who You Are”, a mellow tune that captures the feelings of a new, or struggling believer. “Any Other Way” has a similar statement, but this time coming from God’s perspective, saying: ‘Cause it’s not enough / it’s not enough / just to say that we’re okay / I need you hurt / I need your pain / it’s not love any other way. You might laugh, but even though I have been so abnormally positive already, the best comes for last. With heart-on-his-sleeve passion shining through, Mike’s vocals on “Empty My Hands” are exceptional, and it would be a shame not to mention the soft jazz tinged “Oh My Dear,” chronicling the lives of two people while one is going through some hard times. I think I could mention every song as favorite, but I won’t waste you time.

So wrapping things up, this is a great CD. From the heights of a big guitar led chorus (All the Pretty Things and Strong Enough to Save) to the deepness of a acoustic driven verse,(On and On) this compilation is one that most Christian music listeners will not want to overlook. Top to bottom there just isn’t a bad track here, and as for the money, I’d say it’s worth you time as well in addition to it. So I wouldn’t even think twice in this case; if you love CCM music and haven’t found anything good in a while, and even if you have, I would say try it out, and if you don’t like it, you need to find a different blog to read. Enjoy! ~ Christian Lingner