Album > Deeper
Artist > Planetshakers
Label > Word
Sound > Delirious, Skillet

You’ve got to hand it to Planetshakers for their ability to adapt all the tricks of modern rock music to a worship purpose. Their influences run from the mesmeric anthems of U2 and Coldplay to the punk punch of Green Day, and at times all the way through to the frenzy of nu-metal. On Deeper, you can also hear the influence of the trend of recent years—pseudo-80s music, like that from The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs. Much of the music here is tight and fast, a sort of controlled frenzy that Planetshakers continue to perfect through their regularly-appearing catalogue. Of course, even the slower songs have that cultivated, arm-waving intensity so distinctive of charismatic worship. But this is worship as sledgehammer, rather than humble, thoughtful communion. It is worship as rock concert, making a stark distinction between audience and performers. (One wonders what the early church would make of it.) The album title is ironic, as the lyrics couldn’t be more shallow, in the way of dumbeddown Americanised Christianity, epitomised by a song title such as the banal “You are good.” It doesn’t have to be this way. Pop music can imitate the hymns of old, where, while the music is relatively simple, the words can be poetically and theologically complex, encouraging a spirituality that is, well, deeper.

Nick's Rating: 2/5