Provident Label Group
Release Date: August 21st 2020
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Tauren Wells & Donald Lawrence & Co.– Trenches [Sunday A.M. Versions] (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Trenches (Sunday A.M. Version)
- Trenches (Sunday A.M. / Stellar Awards Version)
Tauren Wells, ex-lead singer of pop band Royal Tailor (2010-2014), unexpectedly stepped down and went solo a few years ago, much to everyone’s surprise. His debut solo album Hills And Valleys followed in 2017, which spawned the radio hits “Love Is Action”, “Known”, “When We Pray”, “God’s Not Done With You” and the title track; while this year Tauren unveiled Citizen Of Heaven, a superb sophomore album garnering the hits “Miracle”, “Famous For (I Believe)”, “Like You Love Me”, and “Until Grace”. While you all can read my brother’s review of Hills And Valleys here as well as his review of Citizen Of Heaven here; this past week Tauren unveiled another release. Tauren’s brand new single is “Trenches”. It’s originally from Citizen Of Heaven, however this past week Tauren unveiled 2 new versions of “Trenches”. A more gospel infused version sung with gospel legend Donald Lawrence, as well as a semi-live recording from the Stellar Awards this year. Though the release of this song is somewhat unexpected and possibly one could say unnecessary- I just found out about the track on the day of release through my Release Radar playlist on my Spotify, while some of us may still be spinning both Hills And Valleys and Citizen Of Heaven on our preferred streaming service, simply because it’s that good, and that these two albums will stand the test of time in my opinion; I personally reckon that Tauren’s new versions of “Trenches” have shown us the musical direction that he’s probably going to go into in the coming months and years- full on vertical worship to Jesus. “Trenches” from Tauren is a stellar track and a real Holy Spirit-inspired and God-breathed moment- one that you all need to hear at least once!
With Tauren Wells fitting nicely into the ‘gospel’ genre, with Donald eloquently delivering thoughtful and biblical words of wisdom and prophecy, we are treated to a stirring and near-flawless set of renditions of one of my personal favourites on Citizen Of Heaven. Though Tauren’s latest offering is a song we’ve all heard before from January, there’s still something about Tauren’s melody that makes the track fresh and hip! And that’s because this melody has so much heart and passion, and reminds us all of a concept and a notion of unbridled and unashamed worship to God, that we all need to fully understand- no doubt a song we all need to listen to again in order for us to be amazed and enamoured by the God of the universe. It’s still a mystery as to why Royal Tailor really broke up, but nevertheless, Tauren’s subsequent second album and this single still impress, with his songs continuing to be on rotation on my iTunes playlist of late. Perhaps Tauren will release another full length worship album in the near future (I’m thinking mid-2021)… but until such a time, let’s just sit back, enjoy and let God minister to our souls!
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: TobyMac, Building 429, Anthem Lights, Lecrae, Blanca, 1GN