3rd Wave Music/The Fuel Music
Release Date: March 20th 2020
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Building 429– Canvas And Clay (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Canvas And Clay
On the heels of releasing (in my opinion) their most inspiring, and strongest full length album of their whole career (musically, lyrically and thematically) in Live The Journey in September 2018; what’s next for Christian pop/rock band Building 429? Jason Roy, Jesse Garcia, Aaron Branch, Steven Stewart and Michael Anderson have won a place in my heart with their latest album (read my glowing 5/5 review here!), so you’d think that the next release they’d unveil I’d sit up and take notice, right? Well, you’d be right. Fear No More EP released this year (which I reviewed!), while the band have also dropped their first foray into Christmas music. A Thrill Of Hope released in November last year, containing two original Christmas tunes as well as two re-worked carols- all of these songs fitting right at home amongst original Christmas songs over the years such as “Christmas Makes Me Cry” (Matthew West), “This Christmas (Father Of The Fatherless)” (TobyMac), “Baby Boy” (for KING & COUNTRY), “You’re Here” (Francesca Battistelli), “Believe” (Josh Groban) and “December Song” (Peter Hollens). I reviewed the EP here, while the group also released a cover single early this year in “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. And so we come to this past month, where Jason Roy and his friends have unveiled a cover of Pat Barrett’s hit worship song “Canvas And Clay”. While we as a site will review the track from Pat, let us now see how Building 429’s cover holds up…and hope and pray for a new album this year sometime.
Ever since Building 429 left their label and started a new one shortly after Live The Journey released, they’ve been on the go non-stop. It’s a great thing that they’re still making music…but does this mean that “Canvas And Clay” is good quality? Perhaps, you reckon, that maybe the fact that these guys are releasing a cover, and have also released a cover early this year; is because they’ve run out of ideas and are just going through the motions in releasing songs just because. Maybe that could be true (because, who could really verify unless there’s a press release from the band about their next batch of songs?), however I am not that cynical. And because I see the best in everyone…well that makes me love “Canvas And Clay” from Jason and his friends, all the more! See releasing a cover song that is as close to the original as possible, yet also adding in some musical and/or vocal elements that make the cover version their own; is a clever and nifty skill. With the original worshipful version from Pat being more subdued, Building 429 have unveiled a rock cover, which strangely works. And now, that’s enough from me. Now you can listen to the single and let me know what you think of it!
Now that Building 429 are not on a label anymore, has anything really changed? “Canvas And Clay” is just as impacting as ever and, as a worship song, is one of my favourites of the year. If you’re not a fan of Building 429, then you should be, and track perhaps is the perfect platform to by introduced to an artist for the ages (and then of course you can work backwards through their discography!). It’s not known what is next for the quartet (a hymns album or a covers album would be pretty cool!), but until such a date where they release something new, let us be amazed at the words of Jason crying out that ‘…when I doubt it, Lord, remind me I’m wonderfully made, You’re an artist and a potter, I’m the canvas and the clay…’. Oh, and listen to Live The Journey too!
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: Kutless, Nickelback, Daughtry, Switchfoot, Newsboys, U2