Gogglebox Artist:  Speck Label:  Gray Dot Records Time:  10 Tracks/29:59 minutes

Some bands are forever doomed to be known as "youth group bands." These bands tend to be severely lacking in the lyrical department, and their music tends to be a rip-off of everything that was popular a year and a half ago. Well-intentioned youth ministers push this music on their pupils, and, boom, they're the next big thing in Christian music.  After listening to the latest release from Speck, Gogglebox, I got the impression that they could be the next big thing in fundamentalist-friendly rock music. 

That's not a good thing, by the way.  Speck is no exception to the standard clichéd lyrics and tired music of youth group bands-- Gogglebox is pure CCM trash, with lyrics such as these:

      I don't accept
      That we are Generation X
      My dad, well he loves God
      So did his dad and his grandpa
      I wanna leave some evidence
      They say we're dead, well, I'm not convinced
      I've got to go
      I want to show
      My Generation can be close to You

Maybe these lyrics pass for insightful to someone raised on Carman and Rebecca St. James, but they just don't cut it for me. The lyrics aren't the only problem.  Gogglebox's music is bland, played with no heart, and completely forgettable. Worse, lead singer Doug Hutchcraft has an astoundingly bad voice, coming across as both nasal and raspy at the same time (difficult, but he accomplishes it).

Gogglebox is completely unacceptable as art.  One might argue that its intended purpose is ministry, but answer me this:  how is it going to minister to anyone if it's so terrible that no one will listen to it?

Michial Farmer  10/21/99

The very aim and purpose of  Speck is to sing for the youth. As the reviewer above stated, the lyrics aren't terribly innovative, but I found them relevant to young people, focusing on such issues as the media, being happy with the way we are and doing what God's will for our lives is. Not much relevance to an adult audience, but very good for a young audience. The music is hook-driven guitar pop, with the occasional faster edge. Like the lyrics, the music is not very innovative, but instead tends to do what others have done before. Nice stuff, if you like it.

If you're an adult, you probably won't enjoy this very much. However, this is a great ministry tool for today's youth.

Eric Daams