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Release Date: February 23rd 2024

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Phil Wickham– SUNDAY IS COMING (HOMETOWN VERSION) – Single (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. SUNDAY IS COMING (HOMETOWN VERSION)

Phil Wickham has always been one of my favourite worship artists, over the past decade or so. Since 2003 when he unveiled his debut album Give You the World, Phil has given to us powerful singles after powerful singles- ‘Grace’, ‘Divine Romance’, ‘After Your Heart’, ‘Safe’, ‘I’ll Always Love You’, ‘At Your Name’, ‘This is Amazing Grace’, ‘Glory’, ‘Living Hope’, ‘My All In All’, ‘Your Love Awakens Me’ and ‘Till I Found You’, to name a few. In a general sense, Phil has always had a knack at giving to us, great albums, period. From albums like his most recent full length studio album, 2021’s Hymn of Heaven (alongside 2022’s Hymn of Heaven (Acoustic), an acoustic re-recording of Phil’s powerful 2021 album), to the album that got me into the fandom, Response, as well as his chart-topping The Ascension and 2018’s Living Hope, Phil’s powerful and distinct voice cuts through all the cookie-cutter CCM that seems to seep through; and brings it home to be a reminder that great music artists still exist within the realms of CCM.

Phil’s been an artist that we have covered heavily on our site, and most recently, we reviewed both his Christmas single ‘Behold’, as well as his January 2023 single ‘This is Our God’. Now in April, a few months on; we see Phil unveil something new and exciting, unique, powerful, and enjoyable- it may be from a potential forthcoming album, or it could just be a standalone single, just like ‘This is Our God’. Whichever the case, Phil’s new song ‘Sunday is Coming’, just like his previous single, is one of my favourites of 2023 thus far. A song that reminds us of Easter and how the reason why we call Good Friday ‘Good Friday’ is because Sunday is coming. Though it was a sad day in history because of Christ’s death on the cross, what makes the day hopeful is the fact that we now know of what happens on the Sunday three days later. Christ is alive. He’s resurrected, and because of that, we celebrate not only the Sunday, but also the Friday. Phil delivers a great moment of worship, passion, enthusiasm, and powerful declaration, as this song can hopefully pop up in various Sunday morning worship set-lists, not only around Easter time, but at various points throughout the year- yes, it’s a song that is primarily relating around Easter, but the song itself can still be used as a worship song throughout the year as well. The song recounts Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, in song form, and reminds me thematically of other tracks like Carman’s ‘Sunday’s On the Way’, Chris Tomlin’s ‘At the Cross’ and Hillsong Worship’s ‘King of Kings’. ‘Sunday is Coming’ continues to remind us of how much of a powerful singer-songwriter Phil himself is, as he continues to assert himself to become a great worship artist alternative, for anyone who wants to listen to something else, other than Bethel, Elevation Worship or Hillsong. Well done Phil for such a powerful worship song. Maybe another full-length album in the future. Quite possible, considering the power of both of his new songs ‘This is Our God’ and ‘Sunday is Coming’, thus far.

Quoting the entire review of “Sunday Is Coming” (Phil Wickham), written by my brother Jon last year; Phil is now back with a brand new single called “Sunday Is Coming (Hometown Version)”, a kinda more acoustic and laid back rendition of his already hit song. And though it sounds kind of ‘lazy’ for me to ‘copy and paste’; how can I say it better than Jon did last year? Phil is a masterful songwriter and a genius worship leader. His albums are some of my favourite worship albums ever, and the same goes for I Believe. Now, with Phil readying his new upcoming project I Believe (Hometown Sessions), where Phil will re-record every song from I Believe in a new light; “Sunday Is Coming (Hometown Version)” is the lead single. And the result is nothing short of remarkable and magnificent. Near-flawless and stellar, Phil has made this version fresh and revitalising in every way; while also keeping the essence of the lyrics of the Easter message. It’s fitting that this worship melody about Jesus rising from the dead is the lead single of the acoustic version of such an already groundbreaking and impactful worship album; and with Phil proclaiming that Jesus lives and reasserting to us the foundations and the primary issues of the faith (which are Jesus died, rose for our sins and now we believe into His divinity and into the cross and the resurrection, and now we live a life that’s pleasing and holy to Jesus, as we wait until He returns), I could not be more excited for this updated and impactful ‘new-but-familiar’ album in April!

Hey everyone!
I am so excited to officially announce
my next project, “I BELIEVE • HOMETOWN VERSION”

We completely reimagined and re-recorded my album “I BELIEVE”, right here in my hometown of Encinitas, CA. This project is chill, and vibey and truly unlike anything I’ve released before. Think, sipping coffee by the beach while the sunset goes down vibes. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Score: 5/5

RIYL: Kristian Stanfill, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Cody Carnes