Word Label Group
Release Date: August 17th 2018
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Sarah Reeves– Always Been You (Single) (iTunes/Amazon mp3)
Track Listing:
- Always Been You
Yes, another few months have passed, so, what are we in for? Yes, another new song from singer-songwriter/worship/CCM artist Sarah Reeves– this time it’s a song titled ‘Always Been You’. If you’ve been around our site 365 Days of Inspiring Media a fair bit this last year or so, you’d know of Sarah Reeves and her music, and maybe, just maybe, you’ve heard some of her songs from time to time. Let me just say that Sarah and her music are some of the most underrated within the last few years or so. From being catapulted into stardom a decade or so ago, to releasing a few songs with a label, leaving that label, dropping out of music altogether for a season, and then finding her way back and now pursuing music, this time with a new label and a new musical direction; Sarah has had quite a few years, as she continues to present music in a way that is healing, hopeful and heartfelt to whomever hears it. As she readies to release her first full length album on Word Label Group, Easy Never Needed You by the end of the year, we are blessed to hear a myriad of songs from that album release at various points throughout the year. And now, we see this new song pop up on iTunes and Amazon- ‘Always Been You’. How does such a song like this compare to previous efforts like ‘Something About You’, ‘Right Where You Want Me’, ‘Details’ and ‘Faithful’, to name a few? For even though Sarah has been within and around the music industry for a while now (10 years or so!), she is still only starting to be discovered even now, and along with the other songs from her forthcoming album, ‘Always Been You’ is perhaps one of Sarah’s most vulnerable, as she reminds us all of how it is always God that manoeuvres and orchestrates for good, even if we can’t even see it!
‘…I know who I am now. I didn’t before. I know my sound. I know what I like and what I dislike. I have a story to tell. I have songs to sing that came out of real places in my life. I know it sounds simple, but life experience teaches you a lot! I know I have quite the journey ahead, but every day is another day of stepping forward and growing…’ ‘…I hope my fans from years ago will still stay with me on this new journey. I’m sure I’ve lost some and gained new ones. I’m so grateful for each person that supports my music. I can’t please everyone, nor am I trying to. Just making music that I love and hoping it connects to the people that need to hear it …’ These two aforementioned quotes are taken from Sarah’s most recent interview with CCM Magazine, as we’re reminded that for someone to go through a season of not knowing whether what they’re called to do in the beginning is what they should do now, is nothing short of emotive and heartfelt, as Sarah had to come to terms with possibly ending her career as an artist in order for her to continue her career as a songwriter. And now, years later, we see a song that is birthed in ‘Always Been You’, a song, I reckon, is about uncertain times like one’s Sarah has experienced.
Lyrics to this song play out like this- ‘…I could hear it in my head like a voice I can’t forget, louder with my every step, it kept calling me, calling me, I can feel it in the wind like a breeze against my skin, taking me to oceans deep, it kept pushing me, pushing me, I didn’t recognize You, there’s no way I could fight it, You opened up my eyes and I can see it now, it’s always been You…’ as we see a moment of comfort in knowing and understanding that God is always there with us, and that in hindsight, we can call to mind that He’s always been there, even if at that very moment, what we may believe could be of the contrary. Nevertheless, a song like this is a hopeful encouragement to us all to never forget God’s continual presence in our life- all of it- the good, bad and ugly, even if we may only recognise Him in the good and that is it. ‘Always Been You’ isn’t the most publicised single Sarah has released (usually with every song release, there’s like a little ‘story behind’ either on Instagram, facebook or youtube, this time, nothing!), yet, it is still, and arguably, one of Sarah’s most vulnerable and encouraging songs I’ve heard in 2018 thus far.
There you have it… ‘Always Been You’, off Sarah’s new album (not EP, but an album) Easy Never Needed You, track listing TBA and coming TBA 2018. I’m sure it features every song from Easy Never Needed You EP that dropped in April 2018…then again, maybe it won’t. Nevertheless, ‘Always Been You’ is heartfelt against the backdrop of electronic instruments and the piano, as Sarah invites us to partake in the moment of realisation that God is in fact there in the messiness, that hindsight can provide to us things about situations we may not necessarily see when we’re in that moment. Nevertheless, a declaration like what is in this song is very much worth the long periods of renewal and rework God can often do in our lives, as it takes courage to declare the words ‘it’s always been you’, knowing and believing that God’s hand is seen and felt on every aspect of our lives, even the messy bits. Sarah Reeves is an artist that, still relatively up and coming even after quite some time, will hopefully receive the recognition she deserves after both this new song (as well as ‘Just Want You’ and ‘Easy’) and her new EP that released not too long ago. Well done Sarah for ‘Always Been You’, can’t wait for the full-length album coming later on in 2018!
Score: 4/5
RIYL: Meredith Andrews, Christy Nockels, Mia Fieldes, Kari Jobe