Stone Table Records
Release Date: March 1st 2024
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
JJ Heller – I Dream of You: HYMNS (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- All Creatures of Our God & King
- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
- I See You
- The Lord’s Prayer
- How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
- His Eye is On the Sparrow
- Your Hands
- Fairest Lord Jesus
- Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)
- Amazing Grace
- Be Thou My Vision
- Is He Worthy?
- Great is Thy Faithfulness
- Doxology
JJ Heller has been in and around the music industry for quite some time. Possibly the most unique, musically diverse and poignant female indie artist I’ve come across over the last few years, JJ has unveiled her fair share of poignant albums over the years- her 2015 gem and underrated album The Sound of a Living Heart, a successful Christmas album in Unto Us; as well as her successful 2013 album Loved which coined the radio singles ‘Who You Are’, ‘Redemption’ and the title track, alongside a lullaby album I Dream of You that included her famous track ‘Boat Song’. Since Unto Us in 2016, JJ has released a slew of singles to iTunes (now Apple Music), alongside several follow-up albums to her iconic album I Dream of You. I Dream of You Vol. 2 (now retitled I Dream of You: CALM), songs that have made an impact on JJ as a kid and growing up, songs that of yesteryear that still have meaning now. In that album, reviewed by my brother Josh here, we saw songs like ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘Edelweiss’, ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘Moon River’ and ‘Make You Feel My Love’, all covered by JJ in an powerful and acoustic fashion. In 2021, JJ’s release of I Dream of You: LOVE was unveiled to digital platforms. Also an album full of covers, songs like ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You)’ (Bryan Adams), ‘I’m A Believer’ (The Monkees), ‘In Your Eyes’ (Peter Gabriel), ‘Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran), ‘Stand By Me (Ben E. King) and ‘I’m Gonna Be’ (The Proclaimers) were all songs that we may have heard in our lives at one point or another, and were all culminating on this album release from JJ, a reminder that songs indeed transcend the artist originally, as well as time period. In 2023, JJ kept the I Dream of You brand going- releasing a further 3 more volumes- I Dream of You: SLEEP, I Dream of You: JOY and I Dream of You: FRIENDSHIP– I recently reviewed songs from the latter two releases, which can be found here. Now a year or so later on, JJ has unveiled another I Dream of You album- this time it’s called I Dream of You: Hymns.
There’s nothing much to say about this new album, in this ‘review’. Really, there’s nothing much. If you’re a fan of older music, hymns, songs of the 90s and 2000s, timeless hymn-like songs in general, and enjoy songs of yesteryear and want to see all those things married together, then this new album is for you. Even if you’re not really much of a fan of hymn-like music, this album can definitely change your mind- I believe it’s that good. Even if we don’t necessarily know all the original artists present here on this hymns album, we do know many of the songs, and this shows us the timelessness of these tracks, even being able to transcend the artist itself. Songs like ‘How Deep the Father’s Love For Us’, ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’, ‘Joyful, Joyful’, ‘Come Thou Fount’, ‘Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)’, ‘Doxology’, ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ and ‘Is He Worthy?’ are just some of the many songs on this JJ album, songs that we all know in our lives at one point or another. Add in a few JJ originals as well (‘Your Hands’, ‘I See You’, ‘The Lord’s Prayer’) and this album is a must-have purchase (or at least a stream) if you’re a fan of JJ Heller’s music, a fan of timeless classic hymn-like songs, or both. Or if you’re a fan of JJ’s mainstream counterparts like Jewel and Sarah McLachlan.
Much of these songs have stood the test of time, and for them to be reimagined again by JJ is enough for hopefully younger listeners to take note and listen to songs that defy the decades and pierce the heart for reasons inexplainable as we see songs impact and influence, years after they were written. With this album destined to become go-to albums to listen to for reflective music in a worshipful and hymn-like fashion, JJ Heller is definitely underrated, and this album showcases the fact that sometimes, an album full of covers may not necessarily be a bad thing at all. Well done JJ for such a compelling album in I Dream of You: Hymns, certainly some of my favourite covers albums by any artist in the last few years, ever since Destiny, Timeless, Premiere and Encore from Lucy Thomas. Maybe another I Dream of You next year sometime? That certainly seems like the patten! Till then, this album will be on repeat, for the upcoming weeks and possibly months to come!
5 songs to listen to: Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), Is He Worthy?, How Deep the Father’s Love For Us, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Great is Thy Faithfulness
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: Jewel, Bebo Norman, Andrew Peterson, Jenny & Tyler, Sara Groves, Ellie Holcomb