Album Review :
Friends with Microphones Compilation

Artist: Various Artists
Album: Friends with Microphones
Label: One Truth Clothing
Review by: Eric Pettersson

Disc One
1. Paul Wright – From Sunrise to Sunset
2. Delirious? – Not Forgotten
3. Charlie Wall – Micah 6:8
4. Watashi Wa – 2:57
5. East and Waiting – Head on Home
6. Blindside – This Time
7. Anberlin – Paperthin Hymn
8. Dizmas – Saturday
9. mewithoutYou – Torches Together
10. Death Is Not Welcome Here – Beauty and the Beast
11. Seventh Day Slumber – I Know
12. Dogwood – Clemency
13. Public Domain – My Cross

Disc Two
1. Spoken – Bitter Taste
2. Haste the Day – When Everything Falls
3. No Innocent Victim – Your Freedom
4. Inhale Exhale – Touch of Deception
5. Life in Your Way – Threads of Sincerity
6. Enciende – Consciencia Capital
7. Looking Forward – Over and Over
8. Alove for Enemies – Tread on My Dreams
9. LA Symphony – Dance Like
10. Manafest – Let It Go
11. Manofwar – New Dawn
12. John Reuben – Follow Your Leader
13. Dirt – Depth
14. Redeemed Thought – More than Music
15. Shai Linne – My Portion

The people at One Truth Clothing have decided to put together what I have found to be one of the most worthwhile compilations in a while. Friends with Microphones features two CDs and twenty eight songs covering a wide variety of music, brought together for one reason: life. For the price of an average CD, you get all this, and the proceeds go entirely to Life Water International. This is a nonprofit organization that goes to third world countries and gives them something they don’t have, but need to survive… clean water. We take it for granted a million times a day, and these people don’t have it. So what better way to share the Gospel then by living it out? Jesus commanded us to feed the hungry and heal the sick. It is an amazing thing to feed people physically and spiritually, so with the purchase of this compilation, you will not only have a collection of great songs, you’ll also be keeping people alive. Literally.

As for the music itself, it goes in three sections. The first disc is all the basic rock and alternative. The second one starts out with hardcore and halfway through switches over to hip hop. The first few tracks have more of a CCM feel to them, but in this context I can actually get into them as they talk clearly of God’s love and our need for it. I must confess, by the time the Watashi Wa song ends, I’m ready to take out this CD and replace it with Eager Seas. All of the songs are really solid though, other standouts including Blindside, our own Indie Vision Music favorite Death Is Not Welcome Here (who also happens to have a shirt available through One Truth Clothing), a new song from Dogwood, and an acoustic version of the old hymn “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.” It really is a beautiful song, and almost makes the whole thing worth it in itself. I have a feeling I’ll eventually be skipping that Seventh Day Slumber song, but other than that, I can keep this disc on repeat all day.

I’m sure most of you will be happy to know the hardcore part has a nice selection, mostly from Solid State and Facedown, and the songs from Inhale Exhale and Life in Your Way are both impressive. Other highlights include Spoken, Looking Forward, and Enciende. I’m not sure who all will be interested in the hip hop part, but it does feature some good songs. Some of these remind me of why I stopped listening to rap, but John Reuben, LA Symphony, and Manafest, among others, all present something worth listening to each time.

As you flip through the insert, you see pictures of the places and people that Life Water helps, along with lots of quotes about how important what they’re doing really is. Even if the money didn’t go to such a good cause, this purchase would be worthwhile, but the fact that it does really gives you no excuse to not buy this thing. But let’s not stop there… let’s consider going out ourselves and giving Life to those who aren’t guaranteed it.

9/10

Friends with Microphones

Life Water

One Truth