Independent
Release Date: October 16th 2015
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Modern Day Cure– Promises EP (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Hand Of God
- We Are The Brave
- Promises
- Always Good
“…No matter where we’ve been along our journey, we’ve seen God come through time and time again. He has been faithful to His promise concerning our lives and we want to share this hope with others. We want people to know that God keeps his promises…” Comprising of husband and wife Aaron Chipp and Tamar Chipp, as well as good friend Tifani Autry, praise and worship band Modern Day Cure, from Saginaw, Michigan, has unveiled their brand new EP Promises recently. Stumbling upon their music through various music websites, as well as receiving a personal email from one of the band members a few days ago, I decided to give the trio a listen, and boy did they impress, with their honest, impacting lyrics and explosive, hard-hitting anthemic worship style. Something that has been missing for a while in the CCM market, is an African-American worship band (The Walls Group have been the closest, but they are gospel too!)- but with the introduction of Tamar, Aaron and Tifani in their superb, brilliant group, has me believing that this group will be big, and will definitely be what Christian music has been missing for a while. Vocally and musically similar to Mandisa, The Walls Group and Nicole C Mullen, let’s dive in to hear what their 4 song EP offers and brings to the table.
My first exposure to the group was the title track “Promises”, and boy do the trio show us how to worship Jesus! An honest, moving, and personal prayer and declaration of devotion and trust in God’s faithfulness and immense love for us, Tamar eloquently declares above vibrant keys that ‘…the promises You speak I choose to believe, every word You say, precious promises, no matter what may come I trust in Your love, this my confidence, You keep Your promises…’, imparting to us that God can be trusted at all times, despite circumstances in our lives showing us that life may be falling apart. Jesus’ promises are very real, and can be found in God’s living word, and Tamar brilliantly conveys this fact, that God never fails and He is always with us.
Tamar and Tifani share lead vocals in the powerful worship anthem “We are The Brave”, which could be inspired by Jeremy Camp’s “The Same Power”, Bethel Music’s “No Longer Slaves” and Veridia’s song of the same name. Both passionate and fervent vocalists highlight the fact that our identity is in Jesus, and because we know that He loves us immensely, we can rest in the notion that He has won, and we can be brave because of the assuredness we have in Him, that ‘…we are the ones called by Your name, set apart, we are the brave, You are the source, You are our strength, by Your blood we overcome…’. The EP opener “Hand Of God” changes the tempo up a bit, with pounding electric guitars and a rock atmosphere, as Tamar ardently cries out against a catchy melody, that it is the hand of God that guides us through every step in our lives, even when we don’t realise it; and EP closer is a mid-tempo radio friendly CCM ballad, led by keys, with Tifani on lead vocals, as she authoritatively declares that God is always good, that God always keeps His promises, that ‘…his mercy is unfailing, He alone, faithful through the generations, at all times, He is true, our God is always good…’. As the EP ends after 4 songs (way too short!), we are glimpsed into a part of the talents of Modern Day Cure, and a hope that this worship band will go from strength to strength in the coming years!
“…If you would have told the three of us we’d be in a band together a few years ago, we’d say you were crazy. We weren’t even playing any instruments. But God brought us together at the right time and we have surrendered to his plan. To us, true worship is having an undying resolve to follow God’s lead and declare His goodness despite what we face. We’ve grown to understand that we must be willing to live the lyrics we sing.It’s deeper than just getting up on stage and singing a few songs. The music is secondary, having hearts that please God is our first priority…” A well thought out and recorded EP, Modern Day Cure is a band to watch out for in 2016 and beyond! With inspiring lyrics and worshipful themes in each of the four songs, this is my favourite worship EP I have heard in a long time. I would definitely encourage you all to hear the EP, be blessed and be I inspired! Well done guys, and I want to hear your future albums!
3 songs to listen to: Hand Of God, We Are The Brave, Promises
Score: 4/5
RIYL: Nicole C Mullen, The Walls Group, Anointed, Mandisa, Kirk Franklin