Capitol CMG / Sparrow Records
Release Date: October 20th 2023
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Brooke Ligertwood – EIGHT (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Bless God
- Every Chance I Get
- Fear of God
- Lead Me To the Cross (feat. Martin Smith)
- Desert Song
- Authority
- I Will Exalt You
- Ealvary’s Enough
- King of Kings
- Like Incense / Sometimes By Step
- Soon
Known professionally in the mainstream circle, as Brooke Fraser (her maiden last name), for most of her career in music thus far; Brooke Ligertwood (her married last name) recently released her 7th studio album last year- aptly and maybe even appropriately titling it SEVEN– with albums under her belt as ‘Brooke Fraser’, from What to Do With Daylight, Flags and Albertine, to A-Sides, B-Sides and Brutal Romantic, Brooke’s presence in both mainstream and Christian music, needs not to be overlooked. Her impact is far beyond unparalleled for any Christian artist over the last decade or so. An international act of sorts (she is born and bred in New Zealand; but has been the lead worship leader/singer-songwriter for Hillsong Worship for quite some time), Brooke has always trod the fine line of making music that appeals to both lovers of pop/indie music as well, as those who enjoy Christian music, ever since her debut album in 2004, What to Do With Daylight. She has also been a part of the Hillsong Worship ministry team for a similar duration of time as well, contributing to songs like “Desert Song”, “His Glory Appears”, “Hosanna”, “I Will Exalt You”, “Lead Me to the Cross”, “None But Jesus”, “Soon”, “You’ll Come”… you get the picture, her presence within the Hillsong community is paramount. ‘What a Beautiful Name’, from Hillsong Worship’s 2016 album Let There Be Light, is perhaps one of Brooke’s most famous worship songs ever (maybe alongside ‘Lead Me To the Cross’ and ‘Hosanna’, in my opinion), while songs like ‘Deciphering Me’, ‘Shadowfeet’, ‘Lifeline’, ‘Saving the World’, ‘Albertine’ and ‘C.S. Lewis Song’ are just some of the many standout tracks in Brooke’s mainstream music discography thus far.
Since Brooke’s last solo albums A Sides (a best-of compilation-style album encompassing her greatest hits across her four studio albums to date) and B Sides (all of her demos and alternate tracks that were also from that period as well); she’s been leading and serving the church with her contributions to Hillsong Worship’s albums over the last few years- contributing songs like ‘Awake My Soul’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘Who You Say I Am’ and ‘Fresh Wind’, to name a few. Brooke’s impact and influence within the realms of Hillsong Worship has been paramount for quite some time, and her solo material, no matter how ‘mainstream’ it has been perceived to be (by her Christian audience), is equally as impactful over the years. Earlier on in 2022, I wrote a review of Brooke’s most recent album release, SEVEN, and later that same year, I also wrote a review of Brooke’s expanded unveiling of SEVEN, this time titled SEVEN (Deluxe), comprising of 5 more songs scattered throughout the track list, as this selection of tracks felt a lot more ‘complete’ than the standard ten-track offering that Brooke unveiled in February 2022.
In both SEVEN and SEVEN (Deluxe), Brooke was marrying the two worlds she knew very well- worship music, and solo music: to deliver new music under her married name Brooke Ligertwood. And now a further year on from SEVEN, we see Brooke Ligertwood unveil something new- no it’s not a pop-ish album that is a sequel to Brutal Romantic, but rather, it’s a follow-on from SEVEN– this time, it’s titled EIGHT. A great album full of worshipful songs (both from yesteryear and now); EIGHT is a must, especially if you love Brooke’s music (under both Fraser and Ligertwood, worship music, or both. And while the popularity of both SEVEN and EIGHT could be massively dampened because of what has been happening to Hillsong Church within the last few years, Brooke Ligertwood and her album(s) from 2022 ought not to be punished in light of things that are happening behind the scenes. But in all brutal honesty, that’s not now people work…they see things behind the scenes, about anything they deem ‘sus’, well, they just vote with their dollars and won’t stream anything affiliated with Hillsong for the foreseeable future…and that unfortunately includes SEVEN and EIGHT; as much as it pains me to say this unfortunate fact. Regardless of any musings of things behind the scenes, SEVEN was objectively one of my favourite worship albums of 2022, and the same can be said about EIGHT as well.
EIGHT is an album about the familiar as well as the new, the comfortable as well as the exciting. In a track list of 11 songs presented here on EIGHT, we all know around half of them in some shape or capacity- songs like ‘Lead Me To the Cross’, ‘Desert Song’, ‘I Will Exalt You’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘Soon’ and ‘Like Insence /Sometimes By Step’ were all present in Hillsong Worship albums gone past; and here on this album, these songs only highlight the skill of Brooke even more as she delivers songs of yesteryear in such a way that is a unique, reinvigorating, fresh and enjoyable, and readily available for a new generation, who may not necessarily have heard these songs delivered by Hillsong Worship, decades ago. ‘Desert Song’ and ‘Lead Me To the Cross’ are just classic Hillsong Worship songs, period, and the addition of Martin Smith as a duet partner for Brooke on the song ‘Lead Me To the Cross’ is a nice added touch that adds to the enjoyability factor all the more. ‘I Will Exalt You’ and ‘Like Insence/Sometimes By Step’ were both popular songs by Hillsong during the late 2000s, and while I myself haven’t been as familiar with these songs over the years, I do know that within people who really enjoyed Hillsong music at that time, these songs were songs that where well known during that era. ‘King of Kings’, from Hillsong’s recent album AWAKE in 2009, is presented here in a brand new studio setting on Brooke’s EIGHT, and is for me, one of my favourite and standout performances from Brooke within this 11-track song list. This album is by far an ode to nostalgia as well as delivering something new for a new generation, and maybe, just maybe, Brooke is bridging the gap between the people who love songs from decades ago, together with people who love the worship music of now.
Songs like ‘Bless God’, ‘Every Chance I Get’, ‘Fear God’, ‘Authority’ and ‘Calvary’s Enough’ are the new songs on EIGHT (not on Hillsong Worship albums previously…and even within these five ‘new’ songs, only 3 are original), and while I myself will forever and continue to gravitate towards the songs of decades gone by, ahead of all these five new-ish songs, what these songs nevertheless have, is an earnestness that comes through as Brooke delivers these melodies with enthusiastic praise and declaration. ‘Bless God’, originally a song by Cody Carnes, is a melody that showcases the sermon on the mount in song form, as we see and understand, that we are to be blessed (not necessarily in this life, and not necessarily a blessing that we may think or hope to have) when we follow Christ in everything that we are and declare to be. The song carries on into the spontaneous track ‘Every Chance I Get’, as we’re reminded that ‘…I’ll bless Your Name in the morning, every chance I get I’ll bless Your Name…’, as we hope to declare alongside Brooke, that in every action and everything that we say and do, we do so with the Lord’s name to be blessed, at the forefront of it all. ‘Authority’, a duet with worship singer-songwriter John Wilds, is a cover of the Elevation Worship hit ‘Authority’ (from their 2020 album Graves into Gardens), speaks about the authority of God and His name alone spoken over situations and circumstances, will change the outcome, whether we can see it in the physical realm (or even in this life) or not, as we know and believe that when we declare things in the name of Jesus, we can testify that God will work in our lives, and if it is a healing in the physical, then great, but if it’s something else entirely (a mending of something a lot less tangible…maybe relationships?), then great too. The album rounds out with two Brooke Ligertowood originals in ‘Fear of God’ and ‘Calvary’s Enough’- the former is about combating the enemy’s schemes and plans with the Fear of God, and allowing the presence of our King and Lord to come invade the space taken up by the enemy, to turn the situation around for the better; while the latter is a song of contentment and a peace, knowing that what Christ did on that cross at Calvary (and his subsequent resurrection) was enough for us to be reconciled back to Him.
So, there you have it…EIGHT. Though this album wasn’t technically new (there were 2 new songs, followed along by a few re-recordings and covers), what I will say about EIGHT as a whole is this- that Brooke’s ability to create songs that stand out and become great irrespective of what is happening behind the scenes, is what is happening here. For too long have I viewed Brooke Fraser as a separate entity compared with Hillsong (because it’s only in recent years, since ‘What a Beautiful Name’ onward, where she’s become more affiliated with the Hillsong brand), that I’ve come into listening this album, being able to do the same. Not once since hearing EIGHT did I actually think about anything to do with Hillsong…as it should be. But I can understand, if someone doesn’t want to hear the new album from Brooke, because of Hillsong, full stop. I wouldn’t blame them. But I hope that they wouldn’t judge Brooke’s whole album, just on what is happening behind the scenes…because frankly, Brooke doesn’t embody everything that is Hillsong, nor is Hillsong everything that Brooke embodies, either. This is where we need to ask the question- if the art (Brooke’s album) can be appreciated in spite of the artist (Hillsong, on a global scale). Art should be appreciated and enjoyed regardless, but I don’t know if that can be a possibility now that Hillsong’s dirty laundry (everything with Brian Houston and Carl Lentz) has been aired over the last few years. Regardless of what happens in the future, one thing’s for certain, now. That EIGHT is one of my favourites of 2023 thus far, and needs to be listened to, at least once, by anyone who’s a fan of Brooke, worship music, or both. Well done Brooke for this powerful and compelling album. Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for this album, in the upcoming weeks and months ahead.
4 songs to listen to: King of Kings, Desert Song, Lead Me To the Cross, Fear of God
Score: 5/5
RIYL: Hillsong Worship, Sara Groves, Andrew Peterson, UNITED, Rachel Platten