Walking on the Water
Artist: Two or More
Label: Pamplin
Length: 10 songs/43:52 minutes
Two or More's latest project proves that Christian bands can still
produce powerful instrumental tracks. But along with this is a lyrical
depth to important messages for both the church and the world at large.
Three brothers, Eddie, Renatto, and Walter Aquas, comprise Two or
More. They began their rock music careers back in high school with friend
Lance Mowdy who witnessed about Christianity to the brothers until finally
they were singing about God. Mowdy left Two or More after the release of
their first project, Life in the Diamond Lane, to go on staff at
a church leaving the three Aquas brothers to carry on in this their second
release.
The first half of the project is a mix of slower songs intertwined
with the energetic beats that made their first project such a success.
Many of these songs sound like a subdued version of Dire Straits, INXS,
Stryper, Cindi Lauper, Eddie Money or possibly even Crosby, Stills &
Nash. In fact, the song where the band's talents seem to shine through
the most is a remake of “Hole Hearted,” put out in the late 80’s by a group
called Extreme. The first six songs could all be classified as praise on
the theme God and his grace, delivered with elation.
The next song, “ Forefathers,” pivots the entire project into a
different mood, one of worry for a world gone wrong. They say:
Our forefathers knew what they were doing
Our forefathers pledged allegiance to you
They birthed a nation with your holy book of truth
We’ve thrown it out of school now who is gonna make the
rules.
The record ends with three slower songs that unfortunately do not show
the true strengths and abilities of this group. They are overproduced,
placing more focus on the sound of the music than the meaning of the songs
and the vocals. The one bright spot on these last group is "The Reign is
Over" thanks to a fun, catchy chorus and rousing druming. While the project
is fairly decent overall, it’s a shame they couldn’t continue the feeling
of the first half into the second.
By Cathy Courtwright (3/12/99)
