Shining a Light on Exceptional Christian Music

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

As musicians in this modern age, Eric Owyoung and his band, Future of Forestry, find themselves on the road many months of the year. This experience can be an enjoyable one filled with new experiences, new people and many new places, while at the same time agonizing, longing for home, for family, for a regular sleep schedule. Anyone who has traveled knows that many times we are so focused on destinations that we miss what’s happening around us, whether it’s strangers on a plane, passing scenery through a car window, or simply the experience of it all (Personally, I’d like to forget many of my experiences in airports, though it’s fun to people watch).

Although this can be turned into a rather clichéd and trite analogy to life itself, as Owyoung has done for his three EP set Travel, it is never a bad thing to ponder where we are in life’s journey, whether spiritually, emotionally or physically. Owyoung himself writes about the idea behind this music: “Along the road, if I am diligent to take the time, I will learn to lean into the things that are close to my heart…Travel is a subject that seems to open up all sorts of songs about the long journey. Although many of my songs have been about home, I have come to realize that this life here is, in essence, varying spaces that we travel through.”

Each EP in the series represents a different kind of transportation, Travel (One) being travel by flight. The only way this is obvious is by the album art, but the music itself is a superb soundtrack for flying, sometimes falling, or even floating through the air. These songs blend together with soaring atmospherics while walls of sound pummel your ear drums (of course, I like to listen loudly…you can always turn it down). Arrangements on this record are top notch, using all the instruments you can imagine: out of tune pianos, harps, tubular bells, music boxes, accordions, and of course a plethora of percussion, organs and spacey guitars.

The first song, which could be the title track to the entire trilogy, is simply titled ‘Traveler’s Song’. The atmospherics kick off immediately along with sweetly simple guitar picking. As we prepare for our journey, we are told to wait and take it all in: “If you travel here, listen to your heart and take with you what lasts forever.” A chorused and echoed Rhodes ushers us to the next track. Shimmering strings give way to a pulsating beat in ‘This Hour’. Here we are called to sing out against negativity in and around us, but not in a whisper, more like a battle cry. A fairly straightforward rock tune, the strings lead the way, but there’s not much going on musically here.

‘Colors In Array’ could be about an artist. As he is painting a portrait that represents his life, all he can see is a messed up canvas; a bunch of splotches of color that don’t go together. It is only when he steps back and sees the whole painting completed that he sees the true beauty and meaning. Although the finished product is amazing, he is the only one who can appreciate it fully because he’s the one who put so much work into it. “The colors in array will show themselves before we fly away.” Musically this song builds and builds upon swirling colors of accordions, a choir and a bell section reminiscent of the climax in Gustav Holst’s ‘Saturn’ (from his The Planets suite).

The cacophony subsides and a Phil Keaggy-esque acoustic guitar riff opens up the quietly beautiful ‘Close Your Eyes’, written from the perspective of a father telling his son to trust him in the midst of uncertainty. “Trust will be your light tonight, so close your eyes this time.” Owyoung accentuates each line with subtle “ohs” and “ahs” and features tasteful additions of honky-tonk piano and light mandolin picking as well. One of the more poignant lines on the EP reminds us of the humanity of Jesus: “Sons will spend their days searching for what they are made of…the man you call Jesus was still a son like you.”

‘Closer to Me’, along with the previous track, is a highlight of the album. It’s a relatively simple prayer of a man wanting to be closer to God, likening his presence to “brilliant light” and “sweet ruby wine”. It may not be rock-solid theology by any means, but it is one man’s honest search for God, knowing he is still not quite at his destination, but has a good idea of where to search: “For the day I await; ‘Cause my heart knows I found you, and I’m still looking for You.”

Travel is rounded out by ‘Hallelujah’. With simple praise lyrics, we are once again caught up in some awesome building and swirling atmospheric sounds. Soaring guitars, organs and bells work themselves into frenzy, while the drums sound tense and confused. Suddenly, the chords switch from a haunting minor to an uplifting major key, with an angel choir, wailing guitars and synths.

At the end of part one of the Travel series, the feeling is that we have arrived, though the journey is not complete. Our travels through the air are finished as we get ready to sail the seas. The narrator of this story is ready to take it all in, and has found out a little about himself and the God he is searching for. With the vast array of instruments, good songwriting and quality of production found here, I am more than willing to accompany Future of Forestry on the next trip.

Sounds similar to: Anathallo, The XYZ Affair, As Tall As Lions, Coldplay, Mew

Written by: Stephen Berry