Amanda Stott has a great voice, and her 2011 album, Place to Start Again, showcases it well.

The Canadian singer moved to Nashville a few years ago to pursue a solo career, following a self-titled country debut (2000) and pop follow-up (Chasing the Sky, 2005). Released independently, Place to Start Again takes Stott in a new direction, artistically and creatively. It’s the right direction.

This faith-centered collection of songs is a simple affair, framed mostly by piano and strings. Stott takes listeners on a tour of the highs and not-too-lows of her spiritual journey (even when singing about tough times, she never gets too downbeat – an alternate title for the album might have been Don’t Stop Believin’).

Four tracks stand out. Stott smartly opens the album with “Rest,” an ode to the peace and security that come from knowing, and being known by, God. “Need the Fire,” meanwhile, is the cry of a believer longing to have her spirit renewed within: “Ignite my heart / And melt the parts that keep freezing in the cold / I still need the fire / Fill these bones/ So you’ll be known / Burn my pain away.”

On the title track, Stott wades into cliché (“You’ll find there’s so much more to life than you’ve ever known / When you open up your arms and let him in / You’ll have a place to start again”), but she sings it beautifully, and the arrangement works.  

“Walk With Me” is the catchiest tune of the bunch. For reasons I can’t explain, the song makes me want to grab a top hat and cane and dance my way down the street. She comes close to cutting loose on this one and almost having, well, fun. Maybe next time.

What Place to Start Again is missing is top-notch songwriting – a breakthrough hit that convicts while tugging at the heartstrings, like Amy Grant’s “My Father’s Eyes,” or captures the imagination, like Chris Rice’s “Deep Enough to Dream.”

That’s not to say the album’s eight songs, co-written by Stott, are weak. But the lyrics rarely rise above those of the garden-variety songs populating today’s Christian radio. They are nice, they are pleasant, but they are vanilla. Stott need not be edgy, but she doesn’t want to be forgettable, either. She needs material as mature as her voice.

It’s frustrating, really, to hear her fall back on dull metaphors (“I’ve been in a season / Where the leaves are changing,” “I was caught in the pouring rain / Nowhere to go / Lost and afraid”) and painfully primitive phrases (“You’re everywhere / You’re always there,” “Right now things seem hopeless / This is not where I wanted to be / And I feel like every time I try my hardest / It’s no use / But I still believe”).

With the right song, Stott could find herself in the spotlight. Perhaps her new single – “Send Me” – now available on iTunes – will do the job. (Full disclosure: I haven’t downloaded it yet, but I will.)

Shortcomings aside, I liked Place to Start Again, but I enjoy Stott’s voice far more. Here’s hoping this album was just a warm-up exercise.

Place to Start Again Track List

1. Rest
2. My Only Hope
3. I Still Believe
4. Walk With Me
5. Fall Behind
6. Sail On
7. Need the Fire
8. Place to Start Again

Connect with Amanda Online

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The world-renowned Capital Children’s Choir can frequently be seen performing alongside pop and classical superstars and is in constant demand for charity galas and other important events.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who’s writing their own worship songs out there? Are you falling into these patterns or are you intentionally breaking them?

What’s your absolute favorite worship song? Let us know in the comments.

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Now, little did he know I knew exactly who he was talking about. In fact, Hokus Pick and Rhythm and News did a little concert up in Ohio when I was in college. A friend of mine who was from Canada, hey Andrew!, introduced me to them and I absolutely loved both of the groups. After one of their concerts we ended up hanging out with them and going bowling at this tiny little bowling alley in Lexington, OH if I remember correctly. Had a great time. In fact, bowled one of the best games ever. I only missed 6 pins the entire game.

Here’s a poster they signed for me.

Anyone still have their albums? Let me hear you!

They have a Facebook page for Rhythm & News and Hokus Pick.

Can anyone tell me what the phrase “hokus pick” means?

If you’re in ministry and looking for some new transportation and want to work with an organization that is as interested in you and your ministry as they are in selling you a car, check out MATS today.

After taking a look at their available vehicle inventory or request more information, just let them know you heard about them from the Mission Notes Christian Music blog. Be sure and spread the word about MATS to your friends, family and other contacts involved in ministry as well!

Guest Post by Eric Blair

Some people have expressed the view that Christian Rock has decreased in popularity over the years. With bands like Paramore, MxPx, Critical Mass and Switchfoot, rock certainly doesn’t appear to be going away. In fact, some of these groups are now experiencing the most popularity they ever had in their careers. While digital distribution has hurt some segments of the record industry, the contemporary Christian music segment has really started to carve out its own niche.

Magnified Plaid Puts out New Music

Since fans haven’t heard anything out of MxPx since 2007, it was nice to see “Plans Within Plans” hit store shelves in April 2012. Mike Herrera described the title as a reference to the fact that day-to-day life in the recording industry requires you to make plans on top of other plans. At various times, the members of MxPx have said they prefer to be described as a band made up of Christians rather than a Christian band.

Nevertheless, even secular songs on their ninth studio album show some clear Christian themes. “Stay On Your Feet” has a pretty positive message that surely resonated well with a lot of fans. It probably also resonated well with Herrera, since the drama of his work seemed to be getting to him.

Critical Mass

Few bands can please hipsters and Christians equally, but Critical Mass has a following among members of both groups. They’ve come out and said that they’re proud of being an independent band, and have no wish to sign a major record deal. Even though they’re one of the most successful indie bands in Canada, they’re best-selling records have only ever sold slightly over 60,000 copies.

It’s pretty safe to say that they’re still underground. Unlike a lot of groups that enjoy crossover popularity, however, Critical Mass has never tried to downplay Christian themes in their music. Their 2009 album “Body Language” deals with themes of love and sexuality in a way few rock bands would ever dare to. In fact, Blessed Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” directly influenced it.

Paramore’s New Release

Strangely, Paramore has chosen April 2013 to be the release date of their eponymous album. It’s sure to interest a ton of contemporary Christian music fans, and the response to Hayley Williams’ recent comments about the recording have been pretty positive. She stated that Justin Meldal-Johnsen will be producing the record, and he said the sound is going to be much less computerized than a lot of recent recordings.

License: Creative Commons image source

 Eric Blair writes about rock music and live concerts- in his spare time he goes to car shows and listens to his Beatles Vinyl. 

Allison Wyatt, 6
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Avielle Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Daniel Barden, 7
Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47
Dylan Hockley, 6
Emilie Parker, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Jack Pinto, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Jesse Lewis, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Mary Sherlach, 56
Noah Pozner, 6
Olivia Engel, 6
Rachel D’Avino, 29
Victoria Soto, 27

I believe this recent video from Mike Huckabee also does a good job of expressing my feelings and will hopefully equip me to more effectively respond to the question of “Where was God” with regards to this event and future events in our society.

Then, I came across this video shared on my wall on Facebook. Great performance by CeeLo Green. What do you think? How do you balance a performance like this with the song content of some of his big hits?

Watching CeeLo on “The Voice”, you get to see into his life and personality a little more and he appears to be a deeply religious person.

What are your thoughts?