Music Review: A Way to See in the Dark by Jason Gray

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Mostly great songs that speak to the power of faith and love over fear

Cons: A few songs are too repetitive

The Bottom Line: 

Songs that remind you

Of power of faith, God's love

To fight any fear

Faith and Love Versus Fear

I've had an interesting relationship with the music of Jason Gray.  I first heard of him when he was opening for a band I love a few years back.  I loved the songs he did and rushed to his table at the break to get the CD.  To this day I love that one.  Most of his others have produced one or two songs I liked.  And yet I still keep buying his music.  He's just released a new CD entitled A Way To See In The Dark.  It's not going to top that first CD I bought, but I'm really liking it.

The disc comes close to falling into the trap some of his other discs do.  He is a very guitar heavy artist, and many of the songs begin to sound the same.  They're mid-tempo and can blend together if I'm not paying attention.  He has greater variety here that helps distinguish them for me and keep me actively listening, which really helps things out.

Like that first release I got, it's the lyrics here that capture me and make several of the song stand out to me.  My favorite two are actually back to back late in the disc.  "A Way to See in the Dark" is about the struggle between faith and certainty.  As a planner, that struggle is something I fight every day of my life, and the lyrics capture that so perfectly from the opening line.  "Here I am/Begging for certainly again/But simple/Trust is what You're asking me to give."  Later, he does talk about that faith with lines like "The question mark/Hung with every fear/Is answered by/The promise that You are with me here."  The song has a light, upbeat melodious sound to it, which really helps get the message across as well.

A similar theme runs through the next track, "The Other Side."  This has so many lyrics that the song feels faster than it's real beat.  This song talks about how much smaller the hills of life are when we look at them in retrospect.  He starts by talking about a real life hill his school was on and how it seems smaller as an adult.  Then he carries the analogy over to the more serious problems of hospital visits and tight finances and how God helps us get through those mountains as well.  It's the bridge and final chorus where this song really hits me.  "How many times am I destined to prove/I can't do this all on my own." And he continues, "So I won't be afraid/No matter what the trouble I see today/The maker of the mountains He will make a way/To lead me through the darkness to the other side."  I wish I lived in that faith all the time.

Really, the conflict of faith and love versus fear is a big part of the disc.  Two songs deal directly with fear.  There's the fun, upbeat "No Thief Like Fear."  It's in a minor key and has a driving beat that makes it stand out from the rest of the tracks on the disc.  The chorus is a bit repetitive, but the melody is so fun I can't stop humming it even when I don't have the disc playing.

Later on in the disc he challenges us with "Fear is Easy, Love is Hard."  The song talks about the divisions people great between political opponents by scaring them.  But it also talks about the fear of humbling yourself to apologize for something and how that destroys love.

The disc actually starts out with "Remind Me Who I Am," a song that talks about our position with God when we've repented no matter what sin we've committed or how many times we repent from it.  There are also songs of praise like "The Sound of Our Breathing" and "Jesus We Are Grateful."

Of course, some of those songs to present the other minor issue with the disc.  Several of the songs feature fairly short but repetitive choruses, "Jesus We Are Grateful" being the worst.  Those tend to annoy me, so those aren't my favorite songs here.

I debated about buying this disc since I don't tend to listen to most of the Jason Gray discs I have, but I'm glad I did.  A Way To See In The Dark will get plenty of play time in the future.

CD Length: 47:22

Tracks:

1. Remind Me Who I Am

2. The End of Me

3. No Thief Like Fear

4. Good to be Alive

5. The Sound of Our Breathing

6. Without Running Away

7. Fear is Easy, Love is Hard

8. Nothing is Wasted

9. A Way to See in the Dark

10. The Other Side

11. I Will Find a Way

12. Jesus We are Grateful