Most of the time we hear of album release dates pushing back, often times for weeks or months.  However, in this case, due mostly to pressure from the fans, Fervent Records/Word Entertainment is poised to release Love and War on September 8th instead of the original date of September 22nd.  Love and War is the fourth release from the three sisters that comprise BarlowGirl.  An official release party is scheduled for September 13th in Orlando, Florida as part of Rock the Universe.

Ask most bands whether having an iconic lead singer is a good or bad thing and they'll likely tell you that it's a little bit of both. On the one hand, having a strong, readily-identified presence behind the microphone can often be just the ticket to propel a given musical collective to the very heights of commercial triumph. On the other side of the coin, though, many of those same groups have stood by and watched helplessly as fan interest fell through the floor in the wake of their vocalist's departure. Deny it as they may, the members of the Newsboys have almost surely been pondering such matters since early March, when word of lead vocalist Peter Furler's retirement from touring and recording duties (he will continue on in a songwriting and producing capacity) – and subsequent replacement by former dc Talk singer Michael Tait – was first made public.

After hit single and title track from 2006's album, Nothing Left to Lose, took off Mat Kearney found himself on the road continuously. Supporting acts like John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and The Fray as well as his own headline stints, Kearney has been making a name for himself ever since.

Three years and many traveled miles later, Kearney is back with City of Black & White. Of his release, Kearney has said it is a record about community. "There's definitely the theme of this traveling/sojourner/vagabond kind of guy landing in the midst of people that he loves, and who love him."

A high-profile single is often a two-edged sword. On the positive side, it can offer a struggling artist the exposure they need to bring their music to a much wider audience. On the other hand, it can often paint the performer in question into a stylistic corner as they churn out a series of like-sounding copies in an attempt (usually, an unsuccessful one) to replicate its success.

The world of music boasts no shortage of artists who cut their teeth within the friendly confines of the duo or full-band setting before venturing out to try their hand in the solo arena (think Justin Timberlake, Eric Clapton and Dolly Parton). Conversely, any number of performers have chosen the opposite route and traded in their lives as solo stars for a taste of the group-based life (think Michael English’s tenure with the Gaither Vocal Band or David Bowie’s stint in the relatively short-lived Tin Machine).

He is from Houston, Texas. He planned to become a history teacher. He greatly respects and admires Derek Webb as both a songwriter and role model. He was raised as a Greek Orthodox.  At age 9, he became addicted to pornography - a compulsion that haunted him well into his college years. Oh, and did I mention that he never intended to enter the music business? His testimony is inspiring, his personality intriguing, and his music life-changing. Yes, this is singer/songwriter Jimmy Needham.

Music lovers and critics alike have often contended that the most praiseworthy trait any artist can possess is a willingness to try something new. Perhaps this is true because such intrepidity also carries along with it the risk of alienating the performer in question from the better portion of their existing fan base. The axiom certainly applies to the members of KISS, who traded in their characteristic hard rock inclinations for pseudo-progressive rock on 1981’s Music from the Elder and post-grunge for 1997’s Carnival of Souls, and were rewarded with the only two non-RIAA certified studio albums of their 35-year career.

For many a member of the Christian alt-pop camp, February 26, 2004, will forever remain, to quote FDR’s famous 1941 war address, a date which will live in infamy. It was on that day that Matt Slocum sent an open letter to CCM Magazine informing the music world at large that Sixpence None the Richer, the group for which he had served as lead guitarist and songwriter for over a decade, would be no more. But even as fans of the band who opened the pages of the March issue of CCM, where the letter appeared, sat in stunned silence at Slocum’s announcement, they simultaneously took solace in the wording of his parting note, “goodbye ...

Jars of Clay is at it again.

After leaving their previous record label, the men of Jars are in the studio working on a new CD. To whet the appetite of their fans they have released an EP of songs to iTunes called Closer. When I heard the first song released, the title track "Closer", I was taken back by the lightheartedness of the song. Usually a Jars of Clay song is deep and multi-layered. They can be considered a "deep-thinking" man’s band. Not that the casual listener won't like their music, but without much thought you really don't understand or grasp the full meaning of most of Jars of Clay’s material. So listening to the casual, almost silliness of "Closer"
had me wondering if I was hearing a new Jars of Clay.

Making the decision to form a power trio can prove to be a risky undertaking. To be sure, without the aid of one or more additional musicians to fill in the gaps created by the typical guitar/bass/drums arrangement, the songs of the average musical threesome are mostly left to stand or fall on their own intrinsic merit. The good news for Scott Gordin and his fellow Southern California-based bandmates, Jesse Manzano and Chip Gumienny, is that the compositions on their debut effort, Make Me a Worshiper, fit squarely into the former category.