Kim Gentes

Today I had the opportunity to listen completely through the new album "Deeper" by Christine D'Clario. It was a real delight! D'Clario is joined on a few tracks by worship leader/songwriters Anthony Skinner and Leslie Jordan to put voice to these 10 excellent worship songs. But the majority of the project is led simply by Christine herself. D'Clario co-writes on half of the songs on this project and uses standout compositions from others such as label-mates Daniel Bashta, Richie Fike, and others like Paul Mabury (One Sonic Society), Israel Houghton and many others.

The album ranges from radio pop to piano ballads to modern revisit of a classic hymn. There is a deep and grounded sense of presence to D'Clario's singing of these songs. She sounds so comfortable with the music, with the lyrics, that one takes away a sense that these songs are personal reality for her- that these songs are not just "favorites" she is singing for Sunday morning "airplay", but she genuinely believes them and embraces them as her story. These songs are a listening joy and carry something of a spiritual peace as you join in with them. 

Perhaps it is the steady, but subdued pacing of the songs and the arrangements, but this album is powerful, spiritual and deeply worshipful. Rather than forcing some theme or topic with over-arranged music and thunderous, complex instrumental assaults, D'Clario's voice is the focus here. Producer Paul Mabury scopes this project well, holding in the electric guitars, keeping the programming and rhythm compact and well-paced, and returning to the simplicity of piano and simple beats to frame the worshipful arias of D'Clario's sincere expressions.

One could sit down to listen to this album and not get back up for hours. It is captivating especially in its pensive, worshipful moments. Favorite songs for me were ballads Magnified (track 2), Pursuit (track 3), and Faithfulness (track 5). Strangely enough, I would venture to guess that "Arise" (track 7) will be a favorite for almost any church looking for an upbeat declaration song, with its pop-beat, infectious chorus and contrast to the rest of the album. But I warn those who think they will just skim over this project by listening to a few songs- you are more likely to find yourself awash in the peaceful sounds of D'Clario's sublime ballads and settled into your chair in worship for an hour or more. And a good number of us could very well use that kind of interruption in our frantic and busy world. This is a very strong album with good songs, well-produced tracks and an enthralling voice of a worshiper anchoring it all.

For churches using WorshipTeam.com, all of the songs, chord charts, lyrics and audio are already available and pre-loaded for you in the WorshipTeam.com system song database. If you are not part of WorshipTeam.com and want to listen to audio samples or purchase the album directly yourself, see the Amazon link below.