for KING & COUNTRY Go Into The Silent Night

Last year we were treated to an album from a brand new act known as for King & Country. Crave caught everyone by surprise and the Australian natives quickly made a name for themselves. The band was even awarded the Dove for New Artist of the Year. Their debut album was quite impressive and I have eagerly awaited the band’s follow-up to Crave. While I’m sure that we all have quite a while to wait before we get another full album from the duo, their Christmas EP Into the Silent Night will carry me through the Christmas season.

Kicking off the EP is the classic “Angels We Have Heard On High”. While it’s easy to expect most bands to make a bland and unoriginal cover of such a Christmas classic, the for King & Country boys certainly serve up a surprise. The drums are powerful, the keys layer a nice amount of Christmas cheer to the track, and the vocals are just what we’d expect from the pair. They include a fake-out ending towards the middle of the track that makes the listener want more right before they give it to you. Up next is the first original Christmas tune on the EP, “Baby Boy”. The song has an amazing message about the amazing miracle and sacrifice of Jesus coming to earth as a babe. Sometimes original Christmas songs can fall short; either they be unoriginal and cliché or fall short of bringing a Christmas feeling to the music. I can’t wait for Christmas music to hit the radio again just for the chance of this song coming on.

for King & Country’s next attempt at an original Christmas song lands equally as well as the previous. The track is a love song that revolves around Christmas; the tune sings about the love of a boy and girl and how love is truly the greatest gift of all. It’s a heartfelt and joyful song, and one that definitely fits in around Christmas time. The next track is another attempt at a Christmas classic with “Little Drummer Boy”. The band instantly kicks up the tempo and makes the Christmas favorite almost into a rock song. The sound is similar to “Angels We Have Heard On High” and is equally as enjoyable as the first track. The final track is a live version of “Baby Boy”, and while the live recording doesn’t diminish any of the original version, it also doesn’t add much either. I would have loved them to have kicked it up a bit on the live recording, but it sounds too similar to the original to stand out.

If you enjoyed for King & Country’s Crave, you are going to enjoy this EP just as much. And if you enjoy Christmas music, this is going to be a highlight of the season. Everything that was enjoyable about Crave has carried over to this EP. It’s good to see that the band not only can continue to write good music, but also has the ability to remake classic hits in a good fashion. This only makes me more eager for whatever the duo might release in the future. I anxiously await more from this still new band, but I’m glad to have this new EP to keep me warm through the winter. 

 Written by Ben Mills for hearitfirst.com