Shawn McDonald - Roots

Producer:  Christopher Stevens
Record Label: Sparrow Records/EMI Christian Music Group
Website:  http://www.shawnmcdonaldmusic.com

When Shawn McDonald entered the Christian music scene back in 2004 - he was quite a breath of fresh air with his laid back personality, striking testimony, and engaging musical style.  Radio seemed to latch on to his folk meets hip hop sound that was found on Simply Nothing, and he instantly gained a large fan base.  McDonald followed that up with Ripen - an enjoyable effort that ultimately fell flat with critics and fans - much due to the subdued core sound and lack of energetic numbers.  However, McDonald released two successful live albums that showed he had more energy in his live shows that unfortunately hadn’t found it’s way to his studio recordings.  He is now releasing Roots - an album that finds McDonald - yep you guessed it - going back to his roots.  Welcome back Shawn, because this is definitely where you belong.  Roots kicks off with two catchy numbers - “Clarity” and “Captivated.” The pop songs don’t stop there - as McDonald showcases his creative abilities on cuts like “Wash Me Clean”, “Time”, and the album highlight and new studio version of “Shadowlands.” Fans of McDonald’s more artistic alt-folk found on Ripen need not worry as McDonald seamlessly merges the two sounds.  This is most notably seen in tracks like the jazzy “Light” or the haunting album closer “Hallelujah”.  “Greed” is a clever song from a production stand point - mixing in usual sounds to get the lyrical point across.  The musical interlude of “Waltz in 3” is another album highlight - something McDonald should showcase more of on future releases. Roots is not only symbolic in its title musically, but lyrically as well, as Shawn wanted to album to focus on a life that flourishes after being rooted in Christ.  Overall, Roots finds McDonald able to create an album that is both catchy and radio friendly without abandoning his more artistic side. 

Purchase Roots.

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