Abigail Entertainment LLC
Release Date: August 14th 2015
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Abigail Duhon– More Than Gold (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Give Me More
- Dance Up (feat. Spencer Kane) [Radio Mix]
- More Than Gold
- Dance Up (feat. Spencer Kane) [Extended Club Mix]
With a similar music and vocal to mainstream pop artists like Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, Abigail Duhon is the newest teenage CCM artist, following fellow teenage Christian singers and role models like Jamie Grace, The Rubyz, Mission Six, pureNRG, Rachel Chan and Jump5 to name a few. With her new EP More Than Gold releasing August 14th, Abigail’s heart for singing positive music in a music industry that sadly doesn’t deliver the right music to the ears of teen boys and girls around the world, is one of the many reasons why I reckon More Than Gold will be instrumental and pivotal in months and years to come in the lives of many teenagers, and fans of positive music with a message of hope and comfort. While only 3 songs long (the fourth is an extended mix of “Dance Up”), Abigail’s introduction to Christian music is sure to be one that’ll continue for years to come. And let me be the first to say it- maybe she could be the next Rachael Lampa or Stacie Orrico?
Teaming up with iShine artist Spencer Kane, “Dance Up”, while not necessarily a song that promotes anything about Christianity, is nevertheless a song that could still be heard without your eyes being confronted with all the profanity that is found in many other dance-club songs. As we hear Abigail alongside Spencer sing about having a good time, while this song on the surface can seem a little meaningless, is nevertheless true. It is when we have Christ inside us that we can’t stop dancing, and as this song is a clever reminder to embrace the grace of God so that we can dance and enjoy life without inhibition; “Dance Up” is a song that could easily be played in various clubs and bars around the world. Hopefully more songs that are clean that could be played in the mainstream will follow suit, and while “Dance Up” wasn’t necessarily my favourite song on the EP (both versions), it does show us the extent of Abigail’s musical repertoire.
“More Than Gold” and “Give Me More” are two of some of my favourite songs, by anyone, to be released in the month of August. Both similar lyrically yet vastly different musically, Abigail invites us into a dance electronic atmosphere as she longs for more than what this world has to offer, in both a physical and spiritual sense. The repetitious lines of the chorus ‘…give me more…’ is a testament, that we all need more than what this life temporarily has to offer- which is something only Christ can give. A song that this great as a first track, it is really “More Than Gold” that tops the cake- and become arguably my favourite track by Abigail.
Released as the official song promoting new movie #CAGEDNOMORE, about a philanthropist and his twin brother who is a human trafficking smuggler, and their journey amongst the backdrop of lost children, a struggle to set free slaves and a lot of action, drama and heart; Abigail joins a cast of others like Anthem Lights frontman Alan Powell, singer songwriters Natalie Grant and Anthony Evans, and actor Kevin Sorbo to present a sobering film about how slavery can be right here in Western society as it can be in Asia or Africa. “More than Gold” is a song about being worth more than the most precious gold there ever could be, and that we as a humanity, let alone as children of God, ought not to be sold, because we cannot be bought with a price. Our value is from Christ, and what this song, and maybe this movie, will do is to shine a light on the value we have and the value that is given to us from our Father. A slow piano ballad that is more tune to Abigail’s music style, this 3 track EP is enough for us to savour until Abigail’s next album release sometime in the future.
While not the most necessarily refined or even CCM-esque group of songs to be released in recent memory, what Abigail has is potential, heart and emotion, something I personally, as a reviewer and a casual listener of music, haven’t really heard since new artists like Love and the Outcome and Lauren Daigle. With a plethora of musical genres explored in this short EP, from dance to subdued acoustic, Abigail is an artist sure to be influential amongst the younger generation in months and even years to come. More than Gold, even the song alone, is a call to action, as we are reminded of our worth in Christ and are called to live our days knowing and believing this truth. Well done Abigail for this fun and entertaining EP, can’t wait til the next one, whenever it may be!
1 song to listen to: More than Gold
Score: 3.5/5
RIYL: The Rubyz, Jamie Grace, Rachael Lampa, pureNRG