Home by Josh Garrels

(What follows below is a guest review written by Andrew M. Akins. His grade and the grade given by Austin are the same.)

Josh Garrels’ latest release, Home, came out last month – April 7, to be exact. And yes, it’s also true that we haven’t written a review for it yet. Call it what you will. I’m going to call it a combination of preoccupation and trying to digest this album entirely. Thus, it’s taken this long to write this review.

But you’re also thinking something else.

Could Garrels’ new album possibly be better than his last critically acclaimed release, Love & War & the Sea In Between, an album that was featured by news outlets ranging from Christianity Today to NPR?

The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. Garrels’ Home is a story. I mean, he’s always written stories with his albums, but this one takes the cake. The arc of Home draws heavily from the story of the Prodigal Son (if you haven’t read it, pick up a Bible and find Luke 15:11-32), the story of a son – the narrator – effectively estranging himself from his father, turning his back, only to find himself broken by his own transgressions. He decides to return back to his father, a faint hope of reconciliation. The crazy thing happens, and his father invites him back with wide open arms, and throws a feast. The father in this story is God.

In fact, Garrels’ language in the album is openly biblical. I count much more church word usage (CWU) in Home than in previous albums, unapologetically singing “Lord” more often than not, in a posture of respect. His message is clear – he is sinful on his own, and he can’t even right himself by his own power, singing on “The Arrow”: “My shield, my fight for righteousness could not protect me from myself.” You could call that phrase thesis number one.

Garrels said of this album beforehand that he wanted to write something more joyful and victorious. After the first five songs, every listener collectively exclaims, “Joyful?! What?!” as Garrels’ lyrics convey a sense of brokenness. The opener, “Born Again”, is an orchestral-anchored track, pulsating with electronica-influenced overlays that throw Home in an experimental direction. Garrels sings, “Running scared in between / What I hate and what I need“, bringing plenty of question marks. It leads right into “Colors”, an early bright spot – a tasteful blues jam about bringing glory to God. However, the most notable first-half track, and perhaps the notable track of the whole album is “The Arrow”. It’s aggressively blues rock, unlike Garrels’ traditional musical prowess; he sings the whole song in falsetto and belts (I mean BELTS) the chorus. This song will have you saying “Mmm!” for a long time, musically; lyrically it’s much more desperate and broken: It’s a song asking for forgiveness.

The rest of the album, however, is very victorious (the second thesis: coming home). “The Arrow” cuts right into “Heaven’s Knife”, a classically melodic folk tune about Garrels’ marriage which will leave you in joyous tears (it’s certainly a future wedding song of mine). The folk austere continues – “Morning Light” is a rich blend of traditional folk with Americana instrumentation, singing about letting back in the light when we are humiliated in the dark, “And all will be made well, once again“. He then throws a very Bon Iver-esque song into the mix with “Always Be”, glittering piano melodies fading into the mandolin-led “Home At Last”. Despite the predominant use of harmonic minor, “Home At Last” makes you feel indeed, home at last, with trumpets welcoming your return at the end of the track. Strangely, Garrels’ most predictable track musically is “At the Table”, placed at the end of this unpredictable album, thereby making it unpredictable. Sonically it resembles “Farther Along” from his previous album: melodious instrumentation overlaid by a stylistically hip hop beat; this track will touch your heart in a very poetic and spiritual way, Garrels singing, “Come home, home to me / And I will hold you in my arms, and joyful be / There will always, always be / A place for you at my table“. This is the prodigal son returning home to his father. This is the feast. But he’s still not done. He touches your heart again with the closing track, “Benediction”; parting words over soft acoustic harmonies that ensure you when the road gets steep, joy is still offered at the table. It’s the perfect ending to an unbelievable album.

After listening to Garrels’ Home, you’re left without words (hence the time it took to write this review). It’s that good. The outstanding melodies combined with its lyrics, dripping with the gospel, Home will give you a hope like none other. Do you mess up? Do you need forgiveness? Oh yes; me too. But there’s always a place for you at the table. So come home.

Second Opinion: I reviewed Home back on episode 31 of The Closing Track, a few weeks after it came out. I echo here in print what I said on the show and what my friend Andrew eloquently stated – this release will leave you without words upon an initial spin. I discovered Garrels with his release Love & War & The Sea In Between and I gotta say that, the immense quality of that record aside, Home is a significant step up from the high standard set by it’s predecessor. Home is much more straightforward and accessible, but if anything that makes the record all the more deeper and fuller. By narrowing the range of his musical experimentation and striving to do more with less, Garrels allows for the thematic content of his songs to shine through more clearly than in Love & War. The album is beautiful, well produced, and a solid release from beginning to end, and cements itself as one of 2015’s must-listen releases. – Austin