What is the point of music? I don’t really know for sure. It’s a bit like the ‘How long is a piece of string?’. You can’t pinpoint the reason that musicians do what they do. It’s songs in their heads they just have to get out on paper and into our ears, it’s talent that simply cannot be silenced or a broken heart that can only be eased if expressed in a song. The reasons don’t even matter, all I know is that we need to hear it. Your pain, might be my pain. Your antidote might calm the hurt in me. Your riff might make my road trip compilation complete. Your words of inspiration might just talk to the emptiness in my heart, and facilitate healing. So much power. Are they the true-life superheroes that will save the day?
Hawk Nelson are spiritual lyricists out to save the day with their latest album Diamonds. I’ve listened to Diamonds a few times over now and I am not yet in any position to comment on the musicality, whether or not we like their ‘new sound’ or if we yearn for the Hawks of old. None of that is valid right now, because the lyrics have captivated me. The album Diamonds, is speaking straight to my heart. There’s a space in there right now that needs a bit of TLC and Hawk Nelson has rocked the truth of the Word of God right in there.
If you asked them why they do what they do, they’ll tell you it’s to help people like you and me to know our worth, and to acknowledge God for who He truly is. “Live like you know you’re valuable, like you know the One who holds your soul.” “If you’ve got a lot, or a lot of nothing, go ahead and thank God for something!” “I’ve had front row seats to Your faithfulness, a spotlight shining on your promises. I can’t deny, cause I’ve seen it a thousand times!” These are the kind of lyrics splattered across Diamonds, and it’s 34 min of inspiration that almost makes the guitar riffs and the punk-pop lyric style irrelevant. But that’s not why we want to listen to music now is it, or we’d listen to a motivational talk or a sermon from our church’s list of podcasts.
Since the indie punk rock sound that brought us Letters to the President and this reviewer’s favourite Hawk Nelson Is My Friend, things have changed. Jason Dunn was the center of my Hawk Nelson Universe and when I had to report on air one day that he was leaving the band, my little punk rock bubble went ka-pow. I thought it was all over. I didn’t really even know that guitarist Jonathan Steingard was lead vocal material, but they brought out Made and I pretended to like it, all the while weeping inside. With Bart Millard lending his voice to the single Words, I thought the rock days were over and Hawk was now a watered down version of what is once was. In some ways that is true, but saying it like that sounds mean. I don’t mean it like that. I’ve made peace that when you shake up a band and then rearrange it to be something new, it’s probably going to sound different too, and with Diamonds, you’ve got a full dose of that newness afresh, which started with 2012’s Made. Hawk Nelson know how to make uncomplicated music. It’s easy to like, easy to listen to, and easy to share, and it’s not just for sharing’s sake, because along with catchy tunes and the kind of riffs you can play in your room at home, comes lyrics brimming with truth that can soften and redirect even the most hardened hard.
My fave track: Straight Line
Rating: 8/10
Here’s the lyric vid for the title track, Diamonds