Worship Mob – Carry The Fire

worship-mob

Integrity Music

Release Date: March 3rd 2015

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Worship Mob– Carry The Fire (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

  1. Satisfy
  2. Our Father Has Won
  3. Arrested By Grace
  4. We Are Yours
  5. Love Outran Me
  6. You Make Me Brave
  7. Downpour
  8. Here With You
  9. More And More Of You
  10. Light Up The World
  11. Oceans/Nothing But The Blood
  12. Love Break Down These Walls

“…Worship Mob is fighting for a cultural shift – for each worshiper to fully believe in our Christ-purchased clean identity, live in compassionate unity and experience the resulting profound heart-level freedom. Our core mission is to share that we are all beloved sons and daughters, and to spend time learning to love our Father back with all our hearts…hopefully encouraging our friends around the world to do likewise…” Creating buzz and anticipation through their powerful and stirring original and cover videos on their youtube page, Worship Mob have been recording for a while, and began as a weekly gathering between a couple of worship teams. Now, the worship movement is similar in volume and intensity to Passion, with around 30 local churches in Colorado Springs meeting together to bless God’s name and praise Him, praying together and encouraging each other, and also recording worship songs, humbly choosing to offer songs as resources to many around the world! And the ‘band’ have just recently signed with Integrity Music, who have understood their vision and have thoroughly agreed with what the band are longing to convey to all who listen. The result is 12 original songs and covers that deserve many listens as I marvel in awe and wonder at the passion and heart for Jesus that these young worshippers have! So what are you waiting for? This hour long project is streaming right now on New Release Tuesday; there’s no reason not to listen and be blessed and inspired!

Though the worship leaders of the Worship Mob team are not known, I think that it’s a blessing in disguise that the singers choose not to display their names as members of the band on social media and anywhere else online, as it could mean that the band doesn’t want to individually receive recognition for their God breathed anthems that they so deserve; which has led me to listen to the song lyrics a bit more and soak in the presence of God, something which was probably one of the intended goals of Worship Mob. Immediately a glance through the tracklist reveals 4 stirring and impacting covers that show us unique covers that I can listen to again and again, as songs from Selah, Hillsong UNITED and Bethel Music are sung in a different light.

“You Make Me Brave” was one of my favourite songs on Bethel Music’s album of the same name, and on this album it’s no different, with the lead vocalist sounding eerily similar to Kari Jobe. A confronting yet powerful declaration and an anthem driven by pulsating drums and moving electric guitar riffs, the topic of fear is explored, especially when we are called into the great unknown by Jesus, with this song the perfect remedy to anyone who’s afraid, to anyone who needs hope and encouragement in their lives. A personal statement and reflection; vivid imagery and epic descriptions of God’s love are abundant as we are presented with the wonderful aspect of the expansiveness and wonder of Jesus. As big as God is, He is always with us, and always for us as well. As the stirring chorus depicts, we are reminded that ‘…as You love, and wave after wave crashes over me, crashes over me, for You are for us, You are not against us, champion of heaven, You made a way for all to enter in…’, a prophetic declaration by Worship Mob that we can all shout and sing out; this eclectic and inspiring rendition soothes and comforts, and brings us peace as we realize that Jesus’ love is all we need!

The worshipful piano and strings focussed “More And More Of You” depicts a faithful life of following Jesus no matter the cost, and a prayer of gratitude and thanks respectively, where we earnestly and honestly cry out ‘…Holy Spirit, give us revelation, healing visitation, nothing else will do…’ (and I personally find myself drawn to this version rather than Selah’s original verison, which is still strong lyrically and musically). And God being lifted up more and more is the theme in many of the songs, evident in the a stirring slower tempo anthem “We Are Yours”, originally recorded by Desperation Band, and led by soft keys and guitar, where the words are declared that ‘…everything, Jesus we are Yours…’.

Yet it is the medley of “Oceans” and “Nothing But The Blood” (which is a reflective and contemplative 1 minute tag at the end of the track), standing tall at 12 minutes, that is the pinnacle of the album in terms of passion and heart, even much more powerful than any of WorshipMob’s original tracks. It’s “Oceans”, what more do I have to say? Sung to great professionalism, with stirring vocals matching Taya Smith’s vibrant and angelic voice; the epic anthemic prayer, and declaration of Jesus’ sovereignty, delves into the fact that we can call upon God’s name, and rest in the hope and security that we are God’s and He is ours. Taking off in a way unlike no other Hillsong song in recent years, we are met with a song that confronts and reassures at the same time, and asks us the question of whether we’d follow God in the direction that He calls us to when he calls us to it. Every time I hear this song I am almost drawn to tears, as I commune with God, and this version, though covered by an ‘unknown’ group, continues on this positive trend!

The rest of the 8 tracks continue to reaffirm my assertion that Worship Mob will be a huge worship movement in the years ahead! “Satisfy” is the album opener, and though the song is 10 minutes long (with half the song being spontaneous worship, there’s a sense of relaxation in the melody, as both male and female vocalists combine to create a moving and inspiring track, speaking about how God’s presence in our lives is the only thing that can satisfy us, and our love for God is what satisfies Him. What a brilliant eternal truth that we cannot get enough of. Against a musical backdrop of haunting woodwind instruments (flute I think!), the serene melody segues into other powerful and captivating tunes.

The guitar driven “Our Father Has Won”, a mid tempo radio friendly pop/rock worship anthem, has the band fervently praising Jesus, and celebrating the victory found in Christ. My favourite part of the song is the no holds barred chorus, where we hear lyrics that are anointed by the Holy Spirit, and sing out ‘…once broken, and guilty now drowning in mercy, the curse is undone, our Father has won. In bondage no long, now free sons and daughters made whole by the blood…’, providing us with the hope that in Jesus the victory is ours! What a beautiful and majestic explosive melody that is sure to be on my iTunes playlist many times throughout 2015! Another standout is the upbeat guitar led inspiring melody “Arrested By Grace”. The song has a Hillsong-y feel to it, and the male lead vocalist does a great Bear Rinehart impression, as we sing about God’s perfect grace and how it tugs at our hearts and changes us from the inside even if we do not want it to. Standing tall at 7 minutes, there is not a second wasted here, as Worship Mob have written a recorded possibly the best song on the album musically and lyrically.

With “Love Outran Me” being a soft contemplative ballad wonderfully led by piano and sublime, exquisite vocals and harmonies, about God’s love pursuing us even when we’ve run away like Jonah; and the electric guitar led mid tempo “Downpour” being a prayer asking God to rain down on us, to dwell in us, and reveal to us the Holy Spirit; it’s clear that the heart of Worship Mob is not like any other worship artist I have heard in recent times. These guys are on fire for Jesus, and if their sophomore album is as good as this one, whenever that is, then we’re in for a really special treat!

But that’s not all, there’s still more songs to listen to! “Here With You” clocks in at less than 3 minutes, an unconventional tactic as most of these songs sit at around the 7 minute mark. But it’s nonetheless powerful, as the piano only track speaks about a desire of us to be with God and God here with us, in perfect holy communion, as we ask God to ‘…come draw near, find me here…’. “Light Up The World”, filmed as a music video 2 years ago, is a celebratory motivational melody that has to experienced (by watching the video) to fully understand the immensity of God’s love, that we can praise Him because of the life He lived when He came to earth, and the death and resurrection allows us to sing about God lighting up the world! “Love Break Down These Walls” ends the album, with the 3 and a half minute melody a spontaneous free worship ‘song’ where we give praise to god, asking Him to break down the walls that we put up, so that revival can occur and we can praise Him with abandon and freedom! Well done Worship Mob for a fantastic album that is sure to be on my top 30 albums of 2015 come the year’s end!

“…We felt God’s leading to create a unifying worship setting that transcends denominational limitations, and to unite the global Body of Christ to collectively experience the deep, intimate, and life-giving relationship that only Jesus provides…” At first glance, the songs of Worship Mob seems to be a bit similar musically and lyrically to other worship bands such as Hillsong, Jesus Culture, Planetshakers, Passion and Desperation Band; however a closer listen reveals a whole new other layer and sense of appreciation as I listen to the album again and again. Sure, these guys do sound similar to the aforementioned worship artists, but they make their sounds their own as well, and the covers are very unique. If you haven’t heard to worship Mob before, then there’s no better place to start than now! Trust me, you’ll find at least one song out of the 12 that you’ll be jamming to come this time tomorrow! Well done guys, you deserve all of the praise, and let us watch the videos on their youtube channel and be blessed and inspired as well!

3 songs to listen to: Arrested By Grace, Light Up The World, You Make Me Brave

Score: 4/5

RIYL: Paul Baloche, Jesus Culture, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Leeland

3 thoughts on “Worship Mob – Carry The Fire”

  1. Hey Josh,

    Your “3 songs to listen to” recommendation and rating is absent in this review. Honestly, I didn’t really enjoy this album when I listened to it on NRT. I can say You Make Me Brave and More and More of You was okay for me. For the rest, I’m not sure they’d be songs I’d be listening to again anytime soon.

    1. The album review is fixed Mercy- I just finished it today, and it was accidentally uploaded a few days ago.

      It’s a shame that you didn’t like the album Mercy, maybe some songs will grow on you over time!

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