Album: Go
Artist: Newsboys
Label: Inpop

First things first: Paul Colman. His move to the position of Newsboys guitarist is big news for Australian Christian music fans, but even bigger news for him. It’s especially interesting in the light of his recent proclamations of why he moved to the US. The tone of his justification was that he was striking out on his own, out of the vaguely comfortable zone of PC3. But now he has landed in a rather large safety net, and, what’s more, he has said he’s not going anywhere for a while. Can you blame him for swapping shoestring budgets for the star lifestyle, or for swapping the pressure of solo adventuring for jumping on the Newsboys bandwagon? But it sits awkwardly with the boldness that Paul was constantly espousing.

He has also been one of Australia’s most important and popular Christian artists, and fans could be forgiven for longing for more of his signature songwriting, which, let’s remember, was responsible for some cracking tunes—“Turn,” “Fill my cup,” “Solution,” “Dip,” etc, and could hardly be described as exhausted on his last album Let It Go. And then there’s the question of his underutilisation on “Go,” though it’s certainly interesting to hear his guitar playing adapted to the more fast-paced Newsboys context (and he certainly has fitted in easily, as both album and recent Australian live shows proved). On the equally odd and almost annoyingly catchy “Your love is better than life” he riffs with all the enthusiasm of a 14-year old with his first guitar.

But of course Newsboys are bigger than the guitarist, and this is why Paul’s large personality is so quickly sublimated to the group dynamic (or is it deference to leader Peter Furler?). Although the album is clearly a group effort, it is, of course, Furler, and songwriting partner and non-member Steve Taylor whose presences are felt the most. Taylor, in particular, is responsible for most of those clever and quirky lyrics. He uses the English language like a magician; you wonder at times just how he does it. And you hardly need to check the credits to know when he’s not involved with a song. But then again, he was involved in Newsboys’ recent praise albums, where Taylor and Furler were obviously not stretching themselves. “Go,” a “proper” album in this regard, at least aims for the lofty heights of old: “This here won’t be contained/By culture, wars and trendy names/Been there, done that, wore out the t-shirts/Don’t need free perks/don’t need knee-jerks” (“Secret kingdom”). But the lazy regurgitation of stock-standard praise phrases still pops up, in the barnstorming but crudely U2-apeing “I am free” and, to a certain extent, in “In Wonder.”

On the up-side, it’s at least a bit more musically adventurous, starting with the jazzy minor key riff of “Wherever we go” that eventually turns into a bit of reggae (slyly hinted at in the cover colouring perhaps?), showing how Newsboys have not lost their magpie ability to steal musical styles and claim ownership for the sake of novelty. This song’s lyrics are a bit of a puzzle, with Furler singing “Wherever we go, bluebirds sing, and the flowers bloom,” adding “wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at.” Is he saying everything is rosy for Christians, or is he poking fun at that attitude? Both have their problems, but I would lean towards the first. “Breakfast in Hell” is a bit like this—where the silly lyrics could be taken as satirical, they actually mirror a deeper belief.

On the other hand, the title track and “The mission” have an admirable focus on mission, something that has not been a high priority in current Christian music, where the priority is overwhelmingly the relationship between self and God. Furler and co. wave the Great Commission squarely in front of our faces.

The title track has a guitar tone a bit like “Giving it over” from Thrive. Go and Thrive are similar, in that rock and experimentation alternate with moments of pure inspired energetic pop bliss such as “Rescue” from Thrive and “Something beautiful” from the new album, a song that has the pulse and flare of some of Rebecca St James’ material. No wonder, since Tedd T produced both. The disco beat and trumpety keyboards are repeated on the even more nostalgic sound of “Secret kingdom,” recalling, surely deliberately, mid 90s Newsboys, with piano dancing around the light-hearted beat, that distinctive stream of words, and even whistling.

“The mission” positively explodes with joy, all cylinders firing, and with a chorus that is a mile wide. Here are Taylor and Furler at their best, combining Furler’s skill with the anthem and Taylor’s grasp of church history and clever phrasing all at once. It name-drops heroes of the faith and rings out a clarion call (as the chorus suggests) to “put my hand to the plow.” The bell-like tones in the chorus are a nice touch too.
Like Delirious and even U2, Newsboys tread, in the immortal words of Spinal Tap, a fine line between clever and stupid. It’s obvious, for example, that Peter Furler has that big guitar because Bono has one. And the praise and worship thing seemed like blatant cashing-in with minimal effort. But then he and Newsboys can write, seemingly effortlessly, the smartest, most transcendent and smile-inducing Christian pop music going. So, no, you can’t blame Mr Colman for hitching a ride.

Nicks rating: 3/5