BarlowGirl How Can We Be Silent Fervent Records Rock 07-24-2007

SCORE 85%

Sisters Rebecca, Alyssa, and Lauren Barlow are back with a vengeance. Well, maybe not vengeance, but with plenty of attitude, and the first glimpse of it is found on the cover of their third release, How Can We Be Silent. Sporting a shot of the three sisters standing in a boxing ring, it perfectly illustrates the upfront battle-oriented perspective of the new album. Deliberately coming against the stereotypical representation of believers as weak and defensive, BarlowGirl laces up and encourages listeners to “conquer for the Kingdom.” The ten tracks of How Can We Be Silent go past the positive-but-standard teen messages of purity and dating issues to boldly address themes of hope in the midst of chaos, committed faith, and spiritual warfare.

Opener “Song of the Broken” showcases producer Otto Price’s rich arrangements: plenty of strings, Becca’s punched up guitar riffs, and those signature BarlowGirl on-point harmonies. It’s more thick strings on the following pop track, “I Believe in Love,” Alyssa’s supple vocals referencing the popular but powerful homily, “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining…. I believe in God even when He is silent.” That’s an awful lot of strings for my taste, coming across as somewhat counter-productive to me when backing up a rock-ready trio like the Barlow sisters. The atmospheric “Here’s My Life” fares much better, the sweet vocal mix traversing swirling, sultry sonic movements to honestly express their deep need for the Lord. And the uplifting “Keep Quiet” goes one better, encouraging us to be bold with the name of Christ, thick guitar riffs underscoring the provocative question, “Why are we so scared to say it?”

Hard-rocking anthem “Million Voices” is a flat-out fight song, the tight vocals announcing “They’ll remember we were here.” But quirky beats and all, standout track “One More Round” trumps that, cleverly continuing the boxing allegory to challenge us to be spiritually prepared and ready to triumph on the battlefield. The trio’s strong vocals beautifully portray a righteous spirit of determination, while a muted trumpet adds the perfect Snidely Whiplash dash of evil. The chorus is delicious: “One more round/I’ll come out swinging/I am not defeated/Though you cannot see it/I am never in the battle on my own,” bringing to mind that faith-stirring passage in 2 Corinthians 4, about being “hard-pressed… but not crushed… struck down, but not destroyed.” Striking a perfect balance of encouragement, fun, and wisdom, BarlowGirl may have just given us one of the year’s best spiritual warfare tracks.

The theme of empowerment continues with “The Guy Song,” full of good intentions with its growling vocals, strong message and driving guitar solo. I like their willingness to address the guys, but I’m not sure this track holds up rhythmically, as a good guy song must. BarlowGirl is a top-shelf girl band, owing no one any apologies; I think they might have left it at that. How Can We Be Silent closes by re-affirming their choice to follow Christ in piano ballad “I Don’t Regret.” Their lovely vocals lose some of their power in the thick strings again, a shame since the track is quite moving. I hate to have to take off points for that, because I like BarlowGirl, I deeply dig and appreciate the album’s message, and I just wish they had been cut loose to release their inner rock without the fussy strings. These girls are the real deal; they don’t need ‘em.