Insyderz Miss the target with Skalleluia!
Review by dave
Everybody wants to root for the local boys. When they come through, it's
more satisfying than if they had been from somewhere else. It's a personal
thing. Conversely, when the home team doesn't live up to expectations,
it's all that much more disappointing.
With the Insyderz' second major release, Skalleluia!, Detroit's premiere Christian ska band pays homage (I think) to eleven popular praise and worship songs, several of which were written by CCM favourites such as Rich Mullins, Amy Grant, and Twila Paris. It's hard to figure out whether the Insyderz are serious about redoing these songs in their own brand or if they are just having fun at the listener's expense, ala Swirling Eddies' Sacred Cows.
The problem with this album is not that it is a praise and worship album done to ska music. One could see the Supertones doing a good job with this concept. The problem is with The Insyderz limited musical range. Joe Yerke's vocal style is in-your-face and aggressive, matching the Insyderz' musical delivery. This technique works on most of the songs on Motor City Ska, but on an album of praise and worship covers, the result leaves much to be desired. On a few songs, the band starts out the song subdued and laid-back, but then launch into assault mode, as if out of obligation. The listener is left to wonder why.
The three exceptions come as a welcome relief, especially as two of the these less manic songs end the disc. The fifth song on the disc, "Jesus Draw Me Close" borrows a Calypso feel (save the phony accent that many artists seem to feel is mandatory to such a song -- see the Allies' "The Island" from The River), and it works better than any other song on the disc. The two closing songs, "We Will Glorify" and "Mourning Into Dancing" are also less "attack mode" stye songs, and finish the album nicely. One just wishes the previous nine songs had been more in this vein.
Long time fans of Christian Rock will be surprised to find the names of consummate artists/producers Gene Eugene and Steve Taylor on this disc (producer and executive producer). Many young bands have benefited from the mature direction of Eugene and Taylor, but it is apparent that both are out of their genre on this disc. The musical quality exhibited on Skalleluia! is much below what both men are capable of.
Skalleluia is not a good album. It is an album that was released prematurely in the career of a promising young band from Detroit. The Insyderz have received rave reviews of their live performances and have built up quite a following locally and nationally. Their first album, Motor City Ska showed lots of energy and potential. This time around, however, the local boys tried for too much, too soon.