Posted by Gabriel Syme on 07-06-2006 at09:39:
Sincere appreciationI was listening to one of my playlists at work when "A Sigh for You" came up. I remember how much I played the Fearful Symmetry album in college. But it just this morning dawned on me the way in which that album differed from everything else. It is the way in which Daniel Amos music and Terry Taylor's words really differ from everything else in my experience. They can be cynical and satirical with the best of them, but what sets them apart is the ability to be sincere about the life of faith.
So much of the music when I was in college was either morose and alienated, or it was so upbeat as bear no relationship to my own experiences. Or it was simply impressed with its own cleverness, which is its own type of alienation. Fearful Symmetry came along at the right time as something completely different from what was being pumped out of a thousand speakers around campus.
How many other bands can release an album with the likes of "Neverland Ballroom" and "Instruction through Film" on it & also include "A Sigh for You" and "When the Moonlight Sleeps"? And how many can be sincere without constantly veering into sappiness or producing a song seeming to consist entirely of phrases from Psalms spliced together? How many could produce "Shadow Catcher" at all?
There are a few, but not nearly enough. It's usually either "painted all black" or rose-colored. So while Daniel Amos may often be noted for their cleverness and sharp wit, here is a small tribute to their sincerity.
