Newsboys - In the Hands of God

Producer:  Tedd T., Max Hsu, Jeff Frankenstein & Peter Furler
Record Label:  Inpop Records
Website:  http://www.newsboys.com

The Newsboys have had quite the year.  First, the group lost long-time bassist and vocalist Phil Joel (who left to concentrate on his semi-blossoming solo career).  Later, guitarist Paul Colman was replaced by former guitarist Jody Davis.  Not long after that happened, lead vocalist and front man Peter Furler announced his coming off the road (though still remaining a creative and managerial force behind the group).  The new lead vocalist is now none other than dc talk-er Michael Tait.  Got that?  The group is now releasing their final album with Furler as the touring front man - In the Hands of God (Tait is not featured at all here).  Over the last few years, Newsboys somewhat revitalized their career and gained a whole new fanbase when they jumped on the modern worship bandwagon and released what is regarded as their worst albums to date (Adoration and Devotion).  The boys from Down Under saw a small return to form with their last studio pop record GO.  In the Hands of God picks up where GO left off.  It’s a pop record through and through with more than a few nods to their former worship days.  The album kicks off with the tried-and-true Newsboys sound on “The Way We Roll.”  “No Grave” finds the boys experimenting with their sound a bit - which is always a good thing from the Newsboys.  Like mentioned earlier, the album is a grab-bag of sorts.  You reach in once and you may get a pop song (like the old-school Newsboys sounding “Dance”), then you reach in again and you’ll get tasty morsel of worship (“In the Hands of God” or “Glorious”).  The record features one cover tune - Hillsong United’s “Lead Me to the Cross” gets the Newsboys treatment which neither adds nor takes away from the original.  Fans of the Newsboys’ sardonic wit and cultural mentions will surely be disappointed as it seems Furler’s writing has aged with him.  That kind of writing is pretty much non-existent at this point.  Also, a few tracks feel a bit under produced and lacking - most notably the clunker “This Is Your Life” and odd “My Friend Jesus.”  Overall, In the Hands of God is still a fun pop record despite it feeling like the band is simply on auto-pilot at this point.  Hopefully the recent changes in the band can breathe new life musically into what is become an all-too-familiar sound and approach to making albums from the Newsboys.