Hangnail
“I feel like this is the first record where I had no shame speaking openly about my faith and tackling
deep issues that most Christians don't want to face. I think a lot of times Christian musicians feel like
they have to skirt the issues and talk around them. My thoughts are, why be scared of criticism? If this
is what God has put on my heart, than this is what the songs will be about, and I'm not ashamed or
afraid of what people might think where I might have been before,” says Mike Middleton of Hangnail.
By the time most bands reach 10 years, apathy and mediocrity have set in, and the drive to push themselves
and their listeners long ago lost it’s appeal. It’s easy, in faith and music, to settle for the lowest
common denominator. Just getting by is an attractive proposition.
Hangnail’s “Transparent” (Tooth and Nail Records) is anything but middle-of-the-road. Musically and
lyrically, Hangnail evidences their fearlessness of change. “I think that our music can't be compared to
anyone else. I think its original and different yet well arranged. I think that our lyrics are challenging and
can actually make you think instead of just simply rocking out to some shallow lyrics that might just
sound cool. Also, I feel that over the last ten years, each person in our band has grown musically so
much. I think we are finally performing at a level that should warrant some attention.” “Transparent”
faces issues such as “the downward moral slide of Christians and society as a whole, God's grace,
repentance, the desire to be a better person and Christian, the influence of TV and pop culture, shallowness,
and having a transparent life (not being two faced, being real)” all with a razor sharp delivery
and melodic maturity not often found with the punk genre.
“[The] songs deal with the constant roller coaster life style that many Christians live including myself.
For the last year or three for that matter, it seems like I've had more valleys than peaks. I really want to
get my life straight with God and that’s a lot of what this record is about.” Honesty and transparency
are currently tragically missing from Christian music. With a bare-all record of musical and spiritual substance,
Hangnail is shot in arm and soothing for the soul of Christians and the industry alike. |
