Riley Clemmons – Church Pew | 365 Days Of Inspiring Media

Capitol CMG

Release Date: September 22nd 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Riley Clemmons– Church Pew (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

Church Pew
Man Named Jesus
Loved By You
Fear Not
Lifting Me Up
The Power
Jesus Cries
This Side Of Heaven
Angels
Miracle
Dear God

Bursting on the scene when she was just 18 years old, Riley Clemmons wowed us all with her duet with Social Club Misfits called “Misfit Anthem”, then her debut solo single “Broken Prayers” via Capitol Christian Music Group, and also her self-titled debut album in August 2018. And just from these impacting and compelling melodies alone, there’s absolutely no doubt that Riley has an extremely bright future ahead of her, as she steps into the doors God has opened for her. Still relatively new in the CCM industry (even after 3 albums!); I think the first time I heard her voice on the radio (or internet or wherever you can hear music these days), was with Fern and Marty from Social Club on “Misfit Anthem” early in 2017. Since then, Riley’s music has been a revelation- and you can read my brother’s review of Riley Clemmons’ debut album here; but now the time has come for brand new music. Since Riley’s debut album, she unveiled the singles “Fighting For Me”, “Free”, “Over And Over”, “Healing” and “Keep On Hoping” (you can read those reviews here, here, here, here and here!); while Riley also released her sophomore album Godsend in 2021 (as well as a deluxe edition of the album reviewed here!). Jon also blogged about Riley’s burgeoning influence in a blog in 2021 also; and he delved deep into his own thoughts on Riley’s latest single “Headspace”. We also reviewed “For The Good”, a worshipful single which released last year (we actually reviewed the single twice- once as a song and another as an EP!); while early this year, Riley unveiled to us a brand-new single “Loved By You”, a direct and vertical worship song directed to God about His unending, undeniable, unquenching and unbridled love for us!

So soon after “For The Good”, so soon after Godsend and the deluxe edition of the same album; here we were with “Loved By You”- you can read our thoughts on the song here. And as Riley released another single in “Miracle” this past June; the time has come for the third full length album, titled Church Pew. With a vibrant sound and a jovial and bubbly personality, Riley has delivered a near flawless masterpiece in this CCM album- and one of my favourite CCM albums since MercyMe’s Always Only Jesus from last year.

It fills me with so much joy & excitement to finally announce that my brand new album, “Church Pew” will be available September 22, 2023. It feels as though my entire life has been leading up to the creation of this record. With that said, this album was born from the lowest and toughest point in my life thus far. In the midst of an ongoing battle with depression and anxiety, navigating what felt like a true identity crisis, I felt a strong nudge from God to take an extended period of time away from music to get quiet with Him and my faith, and ultimately begin the journey of getting my brain and soul healthy again.

I wrote my entire first album during high school and wrote majority of my second album during a pandemic. Writing “Church Pew” was a creative reset for me. I was able to pause long enough to rediscover what I loved and resonated with sonically and lyrically, as I began to allow myself the space to naturally evolve, change, and grow from when I first started releasing music at 17 years old. I returned from my hiatus with song titles, ideas, and thematic and sonic direction, very clear on exactly what I wanted to write and who I wanted to create it with. Songs began spilling out freely and naturally, as we wrote the record within a six week period.

“Church Pew” feels like my DNA. As a born and raised Nashvillian, this record is deeply rooted in the music and songwriting culture of my city, inspired by the variety of influences I’ve grown up around.

God has been so faithful throughout this entire journey, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to sing about my faith and the love of Jesus. These songs truly do feel incredibly special and authentic to me in a way I’ve never quite experienced before. l’m ready and excited for listeners to hear this new side of my heart, artistry, and music. This chapter is going to be a special one.

One of the more recognisable songs within this track list is the lead single “Loved By You”. A reassuring, inspiring, encouraging and vibrant melody filled with hope and biblical truths that we are in fact loved by Jesus, Riley eloquently and passionately cries out that ‘…I am believed in, I am held on to, don’t have to wonder who I belong to, I’m always wanted, always known and always treasured, it’s true, I am loved by You…I don’t deserve it, I never could, but You’re just that faithful, You’re just that good, how lovely it is to be loved by You…’. And as she imparts to us that Jesus is faithful and that Jesus loves us because that’s just who He is and it’s in His nature; we are reminded that we can rely on Jesus and we can trust Him because of the cross and the resurrection and because we are His children. Second single “Miracle” is musically on the opposite end of the spectrum- “Loved By You” is an energetic pop tune and “Miracle” is a laid back piano ballad. A resounding and compelling melody outlining the simplicity and the wonderful feeling of a miracle through falling in love with someone; is Riley singing about maybe a boyfriend that the world doesn’t know about- not that it’s any of our business? Or is she singing about a best friend, her parents, a mentor, or perhaps a baby she’s the godparent of? Or maybe a pet like a dog or a cat? Ok, maybe not able a pet… but the questions still remains. Who is this person that is the subject matter of this song? Regardless, the melody is a reassuring, inspiring, encouraging and vibrant melody filled with hope and a sense of honesty and vulnerability; and as Riley eloquently and passionately cries out that ‘…I used to think miracles had to be water turned to wine or the parting of a sea, but when I look in your eyes I see heaven break through, and it’s making me believe my miracle is you…somehow you were the answer to all the prayers I prayed, I guess that’s what they meant by ‘mysterious ways’…’; we are reminded that miracles can occur anywhere- and that it doesn’t matter if they aren’t flash or grandiose either. A person can be a miracle to us. And as such, we all need a hopeful and powerful song like this to get us going!

I’m fighting back happy tears as I write this. It fills me with so much joy to finally share this collection of songs with you. The past several years I’ve been a sponge in writers’ rooms and studios… soaking up everything I could possibly learn. “Church Pew” is the album I’ve spent my entire adult life preparing and learning how to write… it feels like I’ve found my voice not only as an artist & writer, but also as a young woman who loves Jesus. These songs are my stories, but my hope is that they’ll become yours too. My hope is that these songs remind you of how deeply God loves you & how, at the end of the day, we’re really all just trying our best to figure it all out… and that’s okay. This chapter already feels like a special one, and I’m honored to have each & every one of you be a part of it.

I couldn’t have made this record without my incredible, beautiful team. So thankful for every single one of ‘em. More on that later.

I’m truly so grateful for your continued love & support of both me & my music… “Church Pew” now available everywhere you listen to music!!!!!!

The rest of Church Pew inspires us and reassures us that Jesus is with us in this crazy life that we’re all living in, and reminds us to call upon His name whenever we need and want to. The album opener and title track is “Church Pew”, and is the heartbeat of the album- with Riley emphatically proclaiming that the church pews inside cathedrals and churches all have stories to tell of the many, many people who have sat in them. The church pews tell the stories of people who believe, of people who once believed, of people who are cultural Christians, of people who are conservatives. The church pews speak of people who are progressives, who have different doctrinal beliefs to you and me, and of people who are all going through issues and sometimes curse at God because they believe he’s too far away and he’s not acting in their own timeframe. Whatever you believe about Jesus, this song is for you, and Riley outlines that though the church pews tell various stories about people from all walks of life; the fact of the matter is that we all need Jesus. And as Riley sings out that ‘…church pews, they’ve got stories, they’ve got so much that they’ve seen, the best of saints, the worst of sinners and every bit of in between, we all come for different reasons, but Lord knows we all need Jesus, and He’s always saving room for me and you right here in this church pew…’; we are all invited to meet Jesus where we’re at, and let Him transform us from the inside out and into people who are more and more like Him.

“Man Named Jesus”, a potential radio single, is a 3 minute country-esque melody that is as poignant as it is corny. In fact, I reckon it’s probably the most happy-go-lucky melody I’ve heard since Zach William’s “Old Church Choir” way back in 2017. It’s Riley’s personal-but-vague-and-cookie-cutter testimony, and yes, the divinity of Jesus isn’t touched upon, and some would say that this song is blasphemous, as Riley only touches on the ‘man’ aspect of Jesus. But as Riley powerfully declares that ‘…I’m telling everybody, all my friends how my life got changed, I’m born again, telling everybody that I meet that a man names Jesus is all you need…’; we are nevertheless presented with a song that promotes discussion, a song that could succeed on country radio (Gabby Barrett or Carrie Underwood singing this song, anyone?) and a song that highlights that ability of Jesus Christ to change us all from being dead inside to being fully alive. “Fear Not”, an inspirational rock melody, has Riley joyously and exuberantly directing us all to not fear our personal circumstances and our surroundings even if it is bleak and dire. The verses speak about not fearing the water, the fire and the lion’s den, as Riley references Peter walking on the water, Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego in the furnace, and Daniel in the lion’s den respectively; while the worshipful “Lifting Me Up”, a clear album highlight, speaks about surrendering control to Jesus and allowing Him to lift us up and give us strength and shelter whenever we need and desire it.

“The Power”, a moving and inspiring pop melody, is typical CCM that has everything nice and neat and rosy (nothing wrong with that kind of song at all as these melodies have their place in this world!), with Riley outlining that she believes in the power of Jesus and the power of prayer and that when things get tough, she can and will rely on that power to see her through this life. It’s a simplistic song, but also an encouraging and reassuring song, and a certain melody to lift your spirits when you are down; while “Jesus Cries”, a country song through and through, lifts the lid on the topic of hurt and pain and sadness and feelings of anxiety and every other complicated emotion that you might feel in a day or a week or a month, with Riley reassuring us that even though we may feel like there’s no way out, Jesus is right with us and Jesus cries with us in our pain and sadness too.

“This Side Of Heaven”, by far the most personal, vulnerable and honest Riley has been on this release, speaks about the death of a loved one (similar in theme to Lauren Alaina’s “The Other Side”) and Riley wrestling with the feelings of missing them while she’s here on Earth, that ‘…this side of heaven, I’m missing you, figuring out how to make it through, another day without you here, breath by breath and tear by tear, cause this side of heaven, my heart still aches, even though I know you’re in a better place, it’s hard sometimes to sing “It is well” when it still hurts like hell this side of heaven…’; while it’s possibly ironic or maybe planned that way, that the next song is the encouraging and jovial gospel-infused track “Angels”, where Riley testifies that she experiences occurrences in her life where she has been in the presence of God’s angels in one way or another, and she also encourages us to keep on keeping on in this life, because God is always working, even if we can’t see it, as ‘…He’s still sending angels to us, little signs of heavenly love, the hand of God, just in disguise, the more you look, the more you’ll find…’. Church Pew then ends with a prayer of gratitude and thanks and honesty, with Riley crying out to God and thanking Him for just being present with us and never ever leaving us. and as Riley sings out that ‘…lately I’ve been thinking about You a lot, words fall short but I’ll give it my best shot, thank You for loving me, for giving all I’ll ever need, being perfect when I’m not…’; we are presented with this realisation that we have a perfect and holy Father, and that we can worship Him and love Him and pray to Him and just talk to Him- because of the perfect nature that He is.

Creating this album allowed me to rediscover what truly inspires me and resonates with me as a songwriter and a 23 year-old woman who loves Jesus. I’m overjoyed and excited to finally share this collection of songs and stories. My hope is that listeners will be able to find their own stories of faith, joy, and healing intertwined within these lyrics and melodies.

With Riley Clemmons also having released powerful and impacting music videos for quite a number of her singles, and with Riley delivering in spades in this feel good album of eternal truths about Jesus; I believe that the only way to go for Riley is up and up. Hopefully Riley will be the next name on everyone’s lips in maybe both Christian and mainstream markets very soon… So what more can I say? That Riley’s soothing and captivating voice makes me want to listen to her debut project and her sophomore project over and over; as well as this album over and over as well? Because it does! So, check out Church Pew pronto! Well done, Riley, can’t wait for more and more new music!

After walking through a season of intense creative burnout & navigating the challenges of an all-time low in my mental health, I made the choice to take an extended period of time away from music to get quiet with God and my faith, and ultimately begin the journey of getting my brain & soul healthy again. “Loved By You” tells the story of what I rediscovered and learned in that season of getting quiet, as I was reminded that my identity and worth are rooted in the unchanging and evergreen truth that I am entirely loved by an awesome and faithful God.

My hope is that people are able to remind themselves of that same truth as they hear this song and sing it over themselves. You are so loved. It’s easy to forget, so I believe it’s all the more important to be reminded.

I am truly and deeply thrilled to be back and releasing music again. This season of creating and writing has been life-changing and healing for me in more ways than I can explain. I’m ready and excited for listeners to hear this new side of my heart, artistry, and music, beginning now with “Loved By You.” This chapter is going to be a special one…

Honestly, I think it’s all too easy to get so busy and distracted that we forget to notice and appreciate the every day miracles we get to experience in this lifetime, and some of the most beautiful miracles I’ve ever experienced have been through people. “Miracle” was inspired by falling in love in such a beautiful and pure way that I found myself being drawn closer to the heart of God. It was very important to me from the beginning of the writing process for this album that I share a piece of that part of my life through a love song.

After sharing a snippet of the song on social media, I was moved by the “miracle” stories being shared about different people’s love stories, miracle babies, family members, friends… the list goes on. I’m truly excited to watch a song that was born from such a sacred and personal season of my life continue to be welcomed into the lives of people all over the world. I’m so excited to finally share “Miracle” with y’all.