Artist: Starfield

Album: The Saving One

Release Date: 2/23/10

Label: Sparrow Records

Sometimes music isn't always very obvious. You can be in for a surprise or something not so appealing. From the first track on The Saving One, you can tell that you are in for an album full of worship. Playing some alternative-styled worship, Starfield has a truly memorable album in their newest effort.

The Saving One starts off with its title track, which is a great worship tune, proclaiming that Jesus is The Saving One. One of my personal favorites off the album comes in "Rediscover You", which shows a more depressing side of Starfield. It talks about how many of us as Christians really seem to lose our faith in God and need to "rediscover" Him. Despite being the album's highlight, "Rediscover You" is also its first single.

"Declaration of Dependence" opens with some driving guitars, with a very powerful sound to it. The delicate piano-driven "Something to Say" is another song that seems to be on the depressing side, but is well written and very memorable as well. Another favorite of mine is "Top of Our Lungs", which is a completely new direction for Starfield, with its electronic-driven sound. "I Need A Father" closes out the album with a toned down tempo, but is still effective.

Rating: 7/10 The Saving One is a great effort from Starfield, with its alternative worship sounding bunch of songs. From the solid worship tune "The Saving One" to the electronic-driven "Top of Our Lungs", the album seems to contain a bit of everything. A new favorite worship album of mine for sure!

Movie: The Imposter

Release Date: 2/23/10

Label: Pure Flix Entertainment/EMI CMG

We live in a world full of addictions and temptations, but what we don't expect is for our role models to fall into these temptation as well, especially the Christian ones. Enter the world of Johnny C (Kevin Max), frontman of Christian rock's biggest band, Grand Design. However, all the fame gets to his head, leading down a road of his life being torn apart. It all starts with his wife, Tara, leaving him with his daughter as well, after seeing him with drugs. Then it's all downhill from there. He gets kicked out of Grand Design by band leader and longtime friend James (Jeff Deyo, formerly of Sonicflood). This lands him on the streets, with all his money run out, leading him to accompany a homeless man Popeye, who adds some comedic relief to Johnny's current depressing life.

However, he is mentored by a church janitor named Proff (Kerry Livgren of Kansas), who helps to turn Johnny's life around. This helps him to become an addiction-free man, as well as a stronger, humble man. He doesn't just repent and is suddenly made a problem free man, but has to make the right choices, the hard choices.

The quality of the acting isn't the greatest, considering that the main roles are filled by musicians, but do fill the purpose and get the point across. We may think that this story couldn't really happen, but the point is that it really does. Even with completely strong "Christian" musicians in a band, the aren't all perfect. They're real people, just like us, with real struggles. God really helps out in these situations, considering that He will still be trustworthy to us and help us in our desperate times of need.

The Imposter is a movie about taking the hard road, not just the easy, narrow path. With the help of God, we can make these choices and even have mentors, people in our everyday lives that help us to make the right choices. I believe that this movie really shows that in a very realistic way, making us consider that even our role models can fall into temptation. In the end, with His help, we can always make the right decisions, which are hard decisions.

Album: Demo EP

Release Date: 2009

Label: Independent

Sometimes something so simple can be so great. Take Poema for example, playing some relaxing acoustic pop. Poema is made up of sisters Elle and Shealeen Puckett, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Aside from their beautiful vocal abilities, Elle plays acoustic guitar and Shealeen plays the piano. The lyrical style on the EP is composed of some well written love songs, very original and unique.

Starting off with the slower love song "Blue Sweater", you can tell that you are in for something special. Another personal favorite I have is titled "All It Takes", which is a much more slowed down song. With a beautiful chorus of "All it takes is a smile on your face and I start thinking you captured my heart", Poema's unique song writing really shines through. Please check out Poema! They will be releasing their new album titled Sing It Now on March 23rd.

Artist: All Star United

Album: The Good Album

Release Date: January 12, 2010 (U.S. Retail)

Label: E1 Entertainment

Returning with their high energy styled pop rock, All Star United is back. With their new album titled The Good Album, you would hold high expectations for it, hoping that it is indeed good. Well, one thing can be said right away, it's not just good, it's great!

With the opener "Surface of the Sun", we already begin to see ASU's high energy style shining through. The piano-driven "The Blame" is essentially God speaking to us, saying that He doesn't choose sides and the He'll take the blame for us and our sins. "Lights Out" showcases more of a pop/punk sound to it, with Ian Eskelin's vocals soaring during the chorus. The acoustic tinged "Once Again, With Feeling" contains a powerful chorus of "I believe in love, I believe in You, I believe that You and I will find some healing".

The album's highlight, the sarcastically titled "Dude... That's Freaking Awesome!" showcases Eskelin's precise vocals and witty songwriting. One of my favorites on the album, "Beautiful Way", which is the closer, with a resounding chorus of "What a beautiful way, what a beautiful way, You have about You". It ends the album on a high note.

Rating: 7/10 All Star United present us with their latest effort, The Good Album. Full of many fun, as well as meaningful songs, it does not disappoint. It not just good, it's great!

Scheduled to release today, Poema will actually be releasing their new single titled "2 AM" next Tuesday. It's the first single off their upcoming album Sing It Now which will be in stores and online on March 23rd on Tooth & Nail Records.

Demon Hunter released their new single titled "Collapsing" off their upcoming album The World Is A Thorn today. The World Is A Thorn will be in stores and online on March 9th on Solid State Records.

Artist: Newworldson

Album: Newworldson

Release Date: 2/23/10

Label: Inpop Records

Blending together a great mixture of soul, funk, pop and worship-style vocals, Newworldson is something unique. Hailing out of Ontario, Canada, Newworldson returns with their sophomore effort, a self-titled album. It contains a more polished and mature sound, as compared to their debut titled Salvation Station.

The opener "You Set The Rhythm" really sets the pace for the album, containg the funk/soul sound. The album's first single, "There Is A Way" has a more contemporary pop sound to it, already a hit single. A little more edginess is brought on "That's Exactly (How I Like It)", with some rock thrown in there and powerful gang vocals in the chorus. "I don't believe much in luck, God's the only one that I trust", it proclaims. Following up is "Rocky Road", a more mellow track, that almost seems to go on and on. It's length is really the only weakness, but it still has a good message.

A song that highly surprises me is "Jamaican Praise Medley", which has a reggae Jamaican sound and essentially just praises God, while having some fun. It was a surprise to hear, but brought a smile to my face. The closer "Weary" has a slower tempo and is filled with the soulful vocals of Joel Parisen, lead vocals of NWS. The album surprised me a lot and was a satisfying listen.

Rating: 9/10 Newworldson easily avoids the sophomore slump with their new self-titled album. It really surprised me and was one of the most unique albums I've ever heard. Check out Newworldson for some great, unique music!