CAEDMON'S CALL Back Home

CAEDMON’S CALL Back Home (Essential)

Unknown outside Contemporary Christian Music circles, the seven-member Caedmon’s Call has an impressive track record – both critically and commercially. Their four previous albums have racked up a multitude of praise, not to mention a million copies in sales.

All notable achievements in the music scene but what to me is significant about Caedmon’s Call is not only their ability to create music that is not only one of the finest examples of modern pastoral country-folk pop around (think of the Jayhawks as a relevant peer) but the success of the band boils down to the sincere and heartfelt lyrics of the songs which testify of the love of Christ in unambiguous terms.

Back Home, as the title implies, is an album of reflection as the band meditates on the meaning of being a Christian and the reality of a relationship with the Almighty.

The opening breezy “Only Hope” declares – “It’s my only hope of Heaven at the cross forgiven,” the touching “Walk With Me” pleads – “Walk with me empty, walk with me strong/The hush of our voices, when the day seems so long/It is like a balm, it is like a jewel/It unravels all I though I knew” whilst the chorus quotes Psalm 23, the bluegrass rustic “Hands of the Potter” expresses the Christian’s lifelong desire – “Lord, if I’m the clay then let your living water flow/Soften up my edges Lord/So Everyone will know that I’m on my way home,” the gorgeously poignant “The Emptiest Day” digs deep to discover the strength of faith – “”And I am looking for the well that won’t run dry/The rest that weary thoughts cannot deny/When you wrap Your arms around me/I can walk away or face the emptiest day” and the middle-eastern flavored “The Kingdom” describes the battle within – “I’m watching my kingdom crumble and fall/You’re building Your kingdom over all,” these snapshots serve to illustrate the length and breadth of Back Home’s scope and achievement.

A truly inspired work, whichever way you look at it and although the Christian focus will no doubt leave Back Home on the fringes of the indie rock scene, I hope and pray that you, dear reader, will have a open mind and give Caedmon’s Call a chance to touch your heart and inform your soul. A+