My music playlist is eclectic: at any given point I may be listening to Celtic rock (yes, such a genre exists), Broadway musicals, science fiction film scores, or Contemporary Christian classics. All that's to say my musical tastes span across the board, and I like artists who can do the same with artistry and depth. Last year I encountered Songs For An End Time Army by Rick Pino while on the hunt for music to underscore a drama. I found what I needed and a whole lot more. In short: I was hooked.
This album contains a wide mix of sounds: there's hard rock guitar, percussive beats, soft piano, choral response, even a harmonica at one point. These different styles aren't all present in every song. Tracks like "Martyr Song" and "You're An Army" are loud and triumphant, while Pino's version of "Nothing But the Blood" is an inversion of this usually upbeat song, bringing down the tempo and playing it in a minor key to focuses one's attention on the sacrifice of the cross. "Fire of the Holy Ghost" borders on country/folk, while "Penuel" is a haunting arrangement with barely any words at all. Your tolerance level for such different styles will largely determine your enjoyment of the album: standard Christian band fare, this is not. Different and bold, but always captivating: these are all words I'd use to describe Pino's sound.
The album manages to credibly combine such disparate sounds as a united whole largely due to Pino's hard-hitting, exuberant lyrics. If the album title isn't evocative enough, consider this "Martyr Song" refrain:" "Raise up an army of lay down lovers." There's an inherent contradiction in such terms, one that belies their apparent militancy to focus our fervor squarely in the right direction: "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil," as Paul reminded the Ephesians. Or how about this line from the addictive "You're An Army:" "We cut off the giant's head / We eat giants for our bread?" There's a clear Davidic reference here that refuses to gloss over or soften this multifaceted man, both the soldier and the psalmist.
But the album does more than evoke a warrior's ethos. In "You're Not Alone," Pino reminds us "There's a fourth man standing there in the fire," a very welcome reminder of divine companionship even when we feel most isolated or betrayed. Perhaps the best example of Pino's blend of traditional theological themes and contemporary conversational tone occurs in "Kingdom of Heaven," a bluesy down tempo track that nonetheless aims for depth with a line like "Smash all your idols and forget about yourself / Cause Daddy is calling you home."
Passion underlies each of these songs, pushing people to think about what they're singing and reminding us of the terrible joy and awesome power we're attempting to capture when we claim to worship. The album attempts to capture all the moods such an action can involve, from jubilant triumph to penitent sorrow, and even simple happiness (I dare you not to smile when you hear "I'm going to play my harmonica for Jesus"). I'd encourage you to sample it for yourself to gain an appreciation for this unique voice.
This review was previously posted on Amazon. I did not receive anything from the songwriter or band for this review (but they're free to send me something now if they'd like). The album is currently available from Amazon as an MP3 download ($7.99) or CD ($30).
