Love & War & The Sea In Between

Love & War & The Sea In Between

Profoundly reverent with a mystical tinge, Josh Garrels' sixth album is the work of a spiritual pilgrim seeking hope amidst a landscape of human conflict and oppression. Love & War & The Sea In Between is the most fully-realized work yet from this gifted singer/songwriter, deeply Christian in its message yet accessible to a wider audience thanks to its bold mix of acoustic, orchestral and electronica sounds. Garrels' vocals - wooly-textured, with an eerie upper range - are at the center of the album's swirling, multi-faceted arrangements, giving his vividly prophetic lyrics a visceral power. The promise of salvation from the cruelties of the world lends a cinematic sweep to tracks like "The Resistance," "Rise" and "Revelator; "Ulysses" and "Slip Away" frame themes of alienation and betrayal in more personal but no less compelling terms. From the silken, evocative groove of "White Owl" to the dreamy folk balladry of "Beyond the Blue," Garrels ranges far sonically yet never loses direction. Love & War & The Sea In Between captures the struggle between faith and fear with poetic insight and musical grandeur.