Music Review: Hearts of Saints

By Thomas Jenkins

GENRE: POP/ROCK/ WORSHIP
LABEL: SONY/PROVIDENT
RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 26, 2010
RATING: 3 OUT OF 5

This is technically a debut album. Well not really. Hearts of Saints used to be called Special D and after one EP (according to iTunes at least) they changed their name to Hearts of Saints to release a self-titled debut album. Now, while it’s an interesting choice to release several songs on an EP, and then change your name and release an album with four of the same songs on it, I don’t know the reasoning behind it, so I’ll focus on the musical quality of the release with a little more on the aforementioned later.

The first thing that comes to mind when listening to this release is the prominent pop/rock sound, and that’s exactly what Hearts of Saints is. The first five songs of the album take the listener on a fast ride that doesn’t let up until the ballad, “Recapture Me”. Hearts of Saints then proceeds to continue the trend with another three anthems, followed with another ballad to finish things off. Now in addition to speeding through an abundance of fast pop/rock tunes, Hearts of Saints also tends to speed through the album as a whole, as it tracks in at a little over 38 minutes. Personally speaking, I don’t mind if an album is short, as it reduces the risk of filler tracks, but short length is apparently an issue for some, so avoid this album right off the bat if you’re looking to add more play time to your itunes library. Musically speaking, the pop/rock tunes are enjoyable, if not stellar. That’s probably also the best way to sum up this album as a whole, enjoyable, good, but not superb by any means. The pop/rock songs are good, they’re done well, they’re enjoyable, they just could have been done better. A good example of the quality of this album would probably be the first song, “The Secret”. This could be just personal preference on my part, but the song showcased a solid verse that led to a lackluster chorus which could have written better. The band seems to fall into the same trap in the next few songs as well, and the last two tracks are really the only ones that really fulfill their potential of being solid listens.

While what was said above may send out the impression that I dislike that album, I have to say that that’s just not true. This album isn’t bad, it just could be a lot better. Lyrically, a few songs could be a good bit more inventive, and the instrumentals tend to run together as the album progresses. Also, four out of the ten songs are already on sale to the public. Do these flaws keep this from being an enjoyable album? The short answer is no, because this album if nothing else fulfills the quality of being fun to listen to. However, it’s hard to envision this as the kind of album that’ll be remembered for a long time. So go listen to the clips of the EP on iTunes (search Special D, NOT Hearts of Saints) and if you like what you hear, go ahead and pick this album up. While it could have been better, it’s still a worthy release, and will only raise expectations for future work from this group.

Review copy provided courtesy of Provident.