Me In Motion
Artist: Me In Motion 
Label: Centricity Music
Length: 10 tracks/31:00 minutes

It amazes me that a three-piece band, like Me In Motion, can have such a full sound. What makes their self-titled debut likeable is a straightforward, raw rock style that reminds me of Green Day. Some guitar riffs also had me recalling the classic rock and roll found on Alice Cooper's Love it to Death.  

The songs are well-crafted and melodic, animated with punk-rock energy. Some tracks are like a roller coaster ride: fast, thrilling and a lot of fun. Their concerts must be a blast. 

Having grown up with a fondness for that most loveable of losers, Charlie Brown, I confess to having an affinity for "Losers," the first single. It's for those who are "always on the outside," feeling like they don't belong. This anthem is a concert favorite that waves like a banner declaring, the gospel is good news for all who feel inadequate! "Jesus has a thing for losers."

One of my favorites, "Leaving Here Someday," is like a car racing down the "LA Freeway." The exuberance is contagious, reminding me that this world is not my home; I will be "leaving here someday." The fast-paced music pulls you along, and the lyrics, as often on this release show the emptiness of this world's philosophies: "We've been fed on rags to riches / Hollywood dreams and empty wishes / Like happiness was king / But happiness don't stop the aching / And our hearts just keep on breaking." Similarly, in "Gotta Be Something," our culture's consumer mentality is addressed: "They don't care what it is I'm becoming / Long as I get what it is they're selling." 

While addressing faulty thinking, the band recognizes that the most meaningful life begins when we give ourselves to God. Pounding Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano anchors this thought in the chorus of "Here in the Middle": Every day here in the middle / is just one day / But it could be more / If every day in the middle / was Yours."   

"Back to You" compels the wayward to run to God's "arms open wide." This song is one of five that guitarist and lead vocalist Seth Mosley wrote with veteran producer Ian Eskelin, who also produced the songs. Remarkably, the five songs that Mosley produced and co-wrote are just as good or better. 

Mosley is a major talent.  He co-wrote and co-produced "Born Again," the Newsboys song that is now a #1 single two weeks in a row. He also co-wrote two other songs currently on the charts, including Me in Motion's "The God I Know."      
 
Together since mid-2006, Me In Motion is not a worship band, but they close with "You Move Me," a song of adoration. It shows their versatility as they slow things down a little at the end. 

Raw energy coupled with simplicity and great production make this a fun and worthwhile debut.

Michael Dalton
May 23, 2010