Anthem Lights Covers

CCM quartet Anthem Lights' self-titled debut album (not to be confused with their self-titled EP) reveals a pop/rock group that may be hoping to pick off the more devout devotees of the Jonas Brothers or those for whom the Newsboys are now old news. They play highly produced rock that supports earnest vocals full of personal turmoil leading to a discovery of Christian faith. Clichés don't bother them, and they name songs with titles like "Lifeline" and "Lighthouse." Also, they sometimes employ the usual trope of singing songs that can — to an extent — be taken as romantic rather than reverent and, by implication, sending a message to female fans. "Can't Get Over You," for instance, sounds like nothing so much as an expression of secular feeling, at least through its first verse and the chorus that goes, "Hold me just a little bit closer/I don't want to lose this moment/Your love has covered me/And now I can't get over you." Later verses suggest that it's God the singer wants to hold him so close, but the point has been made. Anthem Lights may not be original, but they are a bunch of cute young guys, and that can be as important in CCM as in pop music generally.