Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By For King & Country, Kaos 2021.
I don’t usually review ‘Christian’ music or in fact any music relating to a specific religious denomination but Amen is the second single that I’ve reviewed from Joel and Luke Smallbone who go by the name For King & Country.
The brothers were born in Sydney, Australia and immigrated to the US, settling in Nashville, when they were quite young.
It was their second album, Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong, which was released in 2014 that set them on their path to stardom, particularly after it won a Grammy Award.
I really started to take notice of them with the release of their 2018 album, Burn the Ships, which achieved Gold Album status with a number of singles, including the title track which also gained Gold and platinum status.
At the time I reviewed the album I didn’t know that they were a Christian band and I was reacting purely upon the quality of the music and not from any pre-conceived ideas.
The title track, Burn the Ships, particularly grabbed me and it became a regular on my playlist.
Their cross-over from the Christian music to the mainstream charts started with Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong which spent 17 weeks in the Billboard top 200 reaching number 13 but it was Burn the Ships that really cemented their move.
That album won a Grammy in 2019 and despite the pandemic curtailing their touring schedule to support the record the band were able to reach their audience online, announcing that they had cracked the one billion streams mark in 2020.
For King & Country have been compared to Coldplay but the boys themselves cite The Beatles, U2 and The Goo Goo Dolls as influences.
What is obvious from an early listen is that melody plays an important part in their songs and when it’s combined with thoughtful lyrics and gospel influences the outcome is powerful.
Amen exhibits all the elements that have made their songs chart friendly and it is sure to emulate their earlier successes.
