There is a reason why Country music (CM) is outpacing Contemporary Christian Music (CCM).
Instead of holding the gritty Gospel line, laid down by artists like Larry Norman, Keith Green, POD, and even Stryper, CCM went from cutting-edge to comfortable.
Although rattled by the same compromise, CCM’s “three chords and the Truth” cousin hasn’t completely budged.
If anything, CM artists are doubling down.
Country Music never completely ditched the heart-in-your-throat, human struggle fought out alongside a Holy God.
From Jelly Roll, Anne Wilson, Van Zant, John Rich, Brian Sauve, Zach Williams, Trace Adkins, and Josh Turner – up to the late Charlie Daniels, and Johnny Cash – CM’s firm grip on Amazing Grace, still makes Country an outlaw, and outlaw Country what it is.
As the saying goes, Country music is the last bastion of Christendom.
Many of those songs still are a no-holds-barred faith, family and guns, bulldozer, driven by sinners with the Saviour in their sights right through the gates of hell.
This redemptive defiance isn’t unique to the United States.
Australian, Marty Lofberg’s mid-January release of Somewhere Between is as uncompromising.
Good Company, the last offering on the 5-song EP, is on brand.
Track 2, Save My Skin brings the same consistent mix of carefully placed lyrics, with classic baselines, and well-considered mixolydian-infused pentatonic riffs.
Found Out, and Raised Me Up are the EP’s energetic heartbeat.
Whereas Free of Me – the only contemplative ballad – slows down the pace.
As a short-form release, Somewhere Between’s Nashville-worthy sound is shouldered by its distinct content.
My only real criticism is how Lofberg’s apparent play-it-safe simplicity, subdues his songs.
While good, it lacks a full-bodied sound, and with it lift, which makes the EP look like it’s only a test flight.
The songs want to soar, yet, seem to be held down.
Even if budgeting constraints limit the potential here, Somewhere Between is not a budget album.
Lofberg is in the right lane.
The EP is tight, clear, and professionally produced.
To add, he can reproduce the songs on stage, which means Lofberg passes the most important of all musical yardsticks.
Additionally, my criticisms about a more robust sound are easily fixed by a dobro, banjo, and/or fiddle.
Lofberg’s songs are a fresh mixture of Steve Apirana, John Rich, Anne Wilson, and Chris Stapleton.
This is a long way from Lofberg’s punchy, Punk rock outfit, Access Denied.
Talking to Caldron Pool about the change, Lofberg said, “The whole punk thing felt like a right-place, right-time moment.
“We all genuinely loved it back then, but after the band wrapped up, I naturally drifted back to my older musical influences.”
Some of those influences include Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Phil Collins.
While blues and rock were staples of Lofberg’s musical diet, he credits Chris Stapleton and John Mayer for inspiring the EP.
Of the two, it is Stapleton who really deserves the most credit for Lofberg’s newfound appreciation for Country.
“Country music never showed up in my upbringing,” he explained.
“Stapleton’s music, particularly his voice and songwriting really hit me, and I started finding more artists that resonated with me.
“In some ways,” Lofberg told Caldron Pool, “country still feels like one of the last strongholds of real, authentic songwriting.”
This, and the fact “that it’s still mostly made with real instruments and great vocalists,” is, he added, “a big part” of what brought him from Punk to Country.
A lot of that makes sense.
Although Punk and Country share a love for blunt songwriting, Country resonates more broadly, because it isn’t afraid to show its flaws or show that Jesus Christ is the redemptive side of its defiance.
This is where Lofberg shines.
“Like most believers,” he recounted, “I’ve wrestled with doubt, sin, priorities, and growing in my understanding of who God is, and how His world works.”
Talking with Caldron Pool about the songs, he said, “Found Out discusses confronting the futility of opposing Jesus.”
“Save My Skin immediately flips to a desperate cry for God’s help after stuffing it again.
“Free of Me,” he continued, “is probably the song I’ve laboured over the most.
“This came from struggling with whether I was seeing real change in my life or just being too introspective.”
“Raised Me Up is all about what God has saved us from and to, drawing imagery from Jonah.”
“Good Company” – which is easily my favourite on the album because of its similarity to Stapleton – “closes the record by reflecting on the costly but infinitely worthwhile nature of following Jesus,” Lofberg concluded.
Somewhere Between was produced by Pete Stevenson at Turn Around Music, in Taree, with the help of Dave Holmes, Mark Costa and Gordon Rytmeister.
You can follow Marty Lofberg on: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube.
