for KING & COUNTRY “What Are We Waiting For?” Album Review

Prime Cuts: Unsung Hero, Cheering You On, Harmony

Overall Grade: 4/5

On album #4.Australian-born duo for KING & COUNTRY show growth and dimension. With What Are We Waiting For?, for KING & COUNTRY bring out fresh perspectives on pertinent issues such as family, race, worship, and relationships. What you will not find are recycled cliches and predictable phrases. In fact, the ethos of the record is captured in the album opener. Written by Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone, Josh Kerr, and Tayla Parx, "RELATE" unpacks the album's philosophy. These songs are created so that we can better relate to each other even though we are "the same in different kind of ways."

Some of the album's most relatable moments come when the duo goes personal. "Broken Halos," a bouncy beat ballad, cuts through our prideful defences. Eradicating the "holy art thou" attitude, "Broken Halos" is a gentle reminder we are paupers helping other paupers find grace. "Unsung Hero," easily the album's most moving cut, is a slice of autobiography as the siblings pay tribute to their parents. The song abounds with heart-rendering lines: You're strong like your father even when you are scared/When I was in trouble, you nevеr left me therе/And you love like your mother, like there's nothing to lose/You're an unsung hero, so I'll sing this song for you.

"TOGETHER," the duo's #1 hit with Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly, has a dynamism that is hard to ignore. While the R&B-influenced "Unity" (thanks to Dante Bowe) finds the duo in adventurous territory. However, not everything is top-notched: the pop-centric ballad "Love Me Like I Am" is quite forgettable and the over-used "oh oh oh" hook of "For God is With Us" is off-putting. In a pop-centric record, the string-laden "Harmony" is gorgeous, though it only runs for a tad over 1 minute. 

Nevertheless, the album ends on two high notes. Though the boys tend to mumble through their lyrics, "Cheering You On" is still a refreshing exposition of Hebrews 12:1-2.  And the album closer, the aptly titled "Benediction" brings out a more reflective and worshipful side of the duo that is endearing. What Are We Waiting For? is by no means a perfect record, but it's a thematically tight album with a diverse array of songs helping us how we can better relate to each other and God. In this sense, maybe RELATE would have been a better album title?

 

 

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