One (EP)
Artist: One Sonic Society
Label: Essential Worship
Length: 5 Tracks (28:10)

It all started on July 29, 1966, in Manchester, England. It was on that fateful evening that Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker – each of whom had just recently taken flight from their previous bands –  made their live debut at the Twisted Wheel Club under the Cream namesake and eventually became known by many as rock music’s first supergroup. The funny thing about supergroups, though, is that, while most of them look absolutely fantastic on paper, the lion’s share usually wind up spending more time arguing amongst themselves than they do actually making music. As a consequence, precious few such outfits seem to churn out more than one or two albums before caving in under the weight of the collective egos of their members. 

It is perhaps with a knowing nod to the inherent bickering and short half-lives that plague such star-laden bands that Christian music’s latest supergroup, One Sonic Society, have named their debut EP, One. Indeed, producer extraordinaire Jason Ingram (vocals, guitar), former Delirious? members Stuart Garrard (guitar, vocals) and Jon Thatcher (bass), and Hillsong United drummer Paul Mabury may very well have chosen the one-word title as a both an unwavering declaration of their solidarity as a band and a means of reassuring their fans that the freshman outing will hardly be their last.  

Of course, any speculation about what may or may not come next is secondary to the quality of the One effort itself. Fortunately for all concerned, the extended play offers no shortage of top-drawer material, including the stirring modern worship-inclined opener, “Our God Will Come.” Even more impressive is the way the quartet bookends the anthemic “Come” with a pair of subdued, yet equally engrossing, closing cuts. At five-plus minutes long, the slow, simmering, “Burn” hints that the group may well be more concerned with capturing the feel of an extended worship session than scoring a succint, can’t-miss Top 10 radio hit. And the similarly airplay-incompatible “Meet with Me,” which times in at a full three minutes longer than “Burn,” clothes itself in a haunting semi-ambient weave that renders the beautiful track as mesmerizing as it is meditative 

The more well-informed members of the worship-loving community will be quick to point out that the EP’s two middle entries have already been recorded by other artists. The Society’s version of “Forever Reign” trades the straight-ahead mid-tempo pop of the Hillsong original for a slightly slower, more somber approach. The likewise superb “Greatness of Our God,” which also appears on the “Love Revolution” album from Natalie Grant, nudges Grant’s inspirational-meets-adult-contemporary version a bit more toward the pop/rock section of the musical spectrum. For both cuts, the original and new incarnations each have much to recommend them and, in the end, the decision regarding which version to favor arguably comes down to the style of music a given listener favors.  

While none of the tracks on One could be considered truly groundbreaking or must-have purchases, what is here is very well done and stands easily on par with the better portion of like-minded contemporary releases. To be sure, as much as anything else, the inaugural project from Garrard & Co. casts a decidedly optimistic shade of light  on that which would ostensibly stand to follow it. Here’s hoping that the OSS collective manages to stick around long enough to deliver it. 

Bert Gangl, The Phantom Tollbooth (09-17-2010)