SOARING VOCALS PROPEL SEASONED WORSHIP LEADER
In keeping with the times, pioneering worship label Vineyard
Music introduced its Varietal imprint to catch up to the artist-driven nature
of the American worship scene. In the past, the label was content with simply
introducing songs for the church, never individual worship leaders, but the
times they are a-changin’.
Though new to Varietal, worship leader Sheri Carr
is a seasoned vocalist for Vineyard—10 years worshipping with them and
counting. But not too fast: Carr’s national debut,
Fearless Now, is fiercer and more radio-friendly than anything
she’s recorded in the past, coming across like a caffeinated, high-powered
version of Passion’s Christy Nockels…and then some.
The Nockels comparison isn’t too farfetched. The project was
helmed by Christy’s husband, Nathan Nockels,
a longtime Passion collaborator and worshipper who knows a thing or two about
producing worshipful pop acts. Carr herself is one
heck of a pop singer, a powerhouse who can soar to insurmountable heights in one
song (“Sing Your Praise”) only to deliver a fragile prayer in the next (“Just
as the Angels”).
The latter is perhaps
Fearless
Now’s most congregational tune—most everything else is too
performance-oriented to leave a mark in corporate set lists. Still, the album
packs enough emotional punch and is carried by such a strong vocal from Carr, one can readily forgive the fact that, more often than
not, the tunes are melodic to the point of overload.
–Andree
Farias