Welcome to the New

Texan Christian rock ensemble open their eighth studio album with the sound of a radio dial being tuned -- and of course, once comes on, it stops -- and while that's a cliche pop and rock move that's been done before, it fits splendidly here. The diverse jumps around pop genres with ease and fueled by inspiration, kicking off with a classic light pop title track that recalls the band's early work, but then offering electro-fueled rock and worship numbers as grand as those from . Biggest surprise of them all has to be the very , very , and very garage rocking "New Lease on Life," but the message is still the same as vocalist roars out his songs of redemption, a topic he's still able to pull from with creativity and passion. Right-sized at ten songs with no filler to speak of, is another entry in the band's long list of triumphs. ~ David Jeffries