Word Records

Release Date: April 5^th 2024

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

We Are Messengers – Where the Joy Is (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. Keep Your Head Up
2. A Thousand Times
3. Where the Joy Is
4. God Be The Glory
5. How Great You Are
6. My Hope is In You
7. I Found Rest
8. All Things
9. Worthy of Being Loved
10. Glory And My Good

We Are Messengers (essentially lead singer-songwriter Darren Mulligan’s moniker as he creates music as a one-man band) has been a band that is relatively unassuming- they aren’t as ‘grand’, ‘big’ or even as popular as their contemporaries like For KING & COUNTRY, Big Daddy Weave, Natalie Grant, Meredith Andrews, Francesca Battistelli, The Afters, Phil Wickham, or even TobyMac, We the Kingdom or Skillet, to name a few. They make music without a fuss- delivering standout songs throughout the years like ‘Everything Comes Alive’, ‘Point to You’, ‘Magnify’, ‘Maybe It’s Ok’, ‘Power’, ‘Love’, ‘Image Of God’, ‘God You Are’ and ‘Come What May’, to name a few. They’re a group, originally from Ireland, that have reminded us all, that you don’t necessarily have to be from the U S of A to be popular (or even from Britian, for that matter). Darren Mulligan has delivered the band’s first three albums with much grace, poise, passion, heart, enthusiasm, and hope, as these songs tug at our own hearts and create something that is far different, unique, and exciting than what CCM currently has to offer. Now on the heels of their chart-topping collaborative single ‘Wholehearted’ (featuring rapper KB), as well as their Christmas EP Saviour last year, as well as their out-of-the-box 7 song EP Hills of Tyrone (an ode and a homage from Darren to his hometown of Ireland), we see Darren present another We Are Messengers worshipful album- a ten track short-but-sweet album titled Where The Joy Is. As the title of the album suggests, the band’s 4^th, is all about joy, but not only that, but about where the joy in our lives comes from- Christ Himself, and the hope we have in Him and His Word.

Starting the album at track #1, ‘Keep Your Head Up’ features a strong undertone of a drum beat as Darren presents this theme of pressing on, keeping your head up and running towards the finishing line, knowing your goal and believing the fact that Jesus will be cheering us on, but also waiting for us at the finish line. The song echoes the Bible verse of Philippians 3:14, where we’re reminded through Paul, that ‘…I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus…’ [NIV] ‘A Thousand Times’ comes in at track #2; and was released as a promotional single prior to the album release. The song itself is a timely and powerful moment of realisation, that the God of the Bible, who has undertaken miracles a thousand upon thousand of times in the past, is still the God of now, who can do (and does do) miracles in the here and now, that because of what has been documented in the Bible, He can be trusted with even the most personable moments of our lives. He is God, and what has been occurring in the past through God, is evidence enough to trust Him with our lives…right?

‘Where The Joy Is’, the title track, features a strong bassline, is a declaratory statement, that we as Christians want to stay where the joy is (and the joy is the personhood of Jesus Christ, and that ought to be where we want to immerse ourselves into)- He is our source of strength, and whether we are in good times or bad, our joy ought not to waver, because of who He is and what He has done for us, not necessarily what and how we feel in a certain moment. ‘God Be the Glory’ is the first radio single unveiled from the album, and is a worshipful moment, that in the midst of difficulty, mourning, ashes, trials and moments of weakness…God is still good, and God is still worthy of giving glory, honour, praise and worship, in spite of what we go through, but all because of what He has done for us, even in our lowest of lows. We place our hope in God not because of our circumstances, but because of Him and Him alone.

Throughout the rest of the album, Darren continues to deliver songs with powerful themes of steadfast moments of commitment and praise, as we sing these songs irregardless of what we go through. ‘How Great You Are’ is a simple two minute praise song as it gets, as Darren fervently proclaims that ‘…o Lord my God, how great You are, I didn’t know it back then, but I sure know it right now, o Lord my God, how great You are, You’re as good as it gets, so I’m singing it out, how great You are…’; while the two duets of the album (‘My Hope is In You’ with Blanca, and ‘I Found Rest’ with Ben Fuller) are both further testaments to God’s faithfulness and ability to give us timely moments of replenishment, nourishment, and refreshment- the 80s music inspired ‘My Hope is In You’ presents a similar theme to that of Third Day’s ‘My Hope is You’, as Darren encourages us with the message that because God’s love is always constant, steadfast and true, that ought to be reason enough for us to stand firm in His promises, and hope in what He has done previously, and believe for it to come to pass in the not-yet. ‘I Found Rest’, with up-and-coming artist Ben Fuller, presents this scenario where the persona went into the world, longing to find the things that will satisfy the soul, but nevertheless came up empty. He then declares in the chorus that finding rest, can only happen and be found, in Christ Jesus; that no where else will deliver the things that God says that He does.

The album is then rounded out with ‘All Things’, ‘Worthy of Being Loved’ and ‘Glory and My Good’- ‘All Things’ is an encouragement to the person who’s feeling as though they want to give up on life, reminding them that ‘…I promise you the light comes, you just gotta stick around…’, that creation and the world around us, echo the very glimpses of who God is and His goodness in our lives; whilst ‘Worthy of Being Loved’ is a song to…anyone who’s feeling a little unmotivated, feeling a little depressed, feeling…maybe a little numb due to life’s twists and turns? It’s for a lot of people, and the message of the track is as simple as it is profound- that we’re worthy as people, of being loved- loved by our family, friends and maybe even God Himself? ‘Glory and My Good’ rounds out the album as track #10; and ends the album on a lighter note. The song itself speaks about how God uses every part of us for His glory and our good- even using our dark and depressing parts of our lives, to show people how far we have come in life, and it’s only by God’s grace that we can stand and testify today of where we’re at now, compared to where we once were before.

So there you go…Where the Joy Is. It’s not your typical worship album. Nor your typical pop album. It’s somewhere in between…? Or maybe it’s just a great We Are Messengers album, period? Whatever the case, this offering of 10 songs is a great album, from top to bottom. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll challenge other listeners like it has done for me (with songs like ‘Worthy of Being Loved’, and ‘God Be The Glory’, to name a few). Who knows, maybe after hearing this album, I’ll check out more worshipful albums…maybe albums from someone like Cory Asbury or even Bethel Music? Who knows. Well done Darren for this powerful, worship album. Maybe people can be challenged as they worship (through the avenue of hearing this album) in the upcoming weeks and months ahead.

3 songs to listen to: God Be The Glory, A Thousand Times, Worthy of Being Loved

Score: 4.5/5

RIYL: Delirious?, Philippa Hanna, Rend Collective, Tenth Avenue North, Martin Smith, Casting Crowns