As it turns out, gospel can extend beyond the setting of of a downtown church. That is how Blood Warrior chooses to describe itself, a gospel outfit hailing from NY. This is not your grandmother's music that she puts into a cassette deck on Sunday afternoons with a glass of sherry on the table. This is art.
Listening to "Snake Seer," you can't help but picture it being sung in a church of the Deep South by a congregation of misfits and rednecks. It is an image that is strange at best, but does not take away from the power of the song. The gaggle of voices is complimented by the inhaling and exhaling of an organ. Why is this not the gospel music we are familiar with (if familiar at all)? It is not a song about the good lord or the Ascension. It is about a great distance and the long journey home. I'd like to come back home to you, the wind will carry me.
When "Snake Seer" first came into my possession, I was left confused. It is not like anything I have ever listened to before. It is raw, lit with feeling and emotion, and nothing close to what I knew gospel as. I liked it. I really liked it. Blood Warrior is something different and cannot be compared to anything else, which is just how they should remain. I recommend they start their own church just to showcase their songs. I would be in the congregation every Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment