World Anthem

In the mirror world of Christian music, where trends in pop are carefully studied and closely replicated in the service of a religious message, David Hanley's group Press Play represent an effort to adapt the hard-charging electronic dance-pop of acts like Black Eyed Peas, P!nk, and Lady Gaga to the spiritual realm. Hanley's fellow musicians, synthesizer programmers, and producers attack the dancefloor with fast BPM tempos, over which he and singers such as Sada Jackson and Jonathan Thulin bark out such slogans as "Start a revolution," "Change the nation," "Join the movement" (all heard in leadoff track "World Anthem"), and "Let's get the fire started" ("F-I-R-E"). Early on, they concern themselves more with attracting attention, soft-pedaling the implicit Christian sentiment with more catch phrases that could be taken to represent friendship or romantic love. "I am yours forever," they sing in "Just Like Lightning," for instance. As the disc continues, however, the tempos slow, and the lyrics become more direct, until, finally, Jackson sings, "God is the difference" in "Change the World." From there, the album concludes with a few ballads full of praise and worship as if, the listeners having been corralled from the dancefloor, they now can be given the straight story. A godless cynic might say that performers like Hanley and company contrive their sound-alike music, unconcerned with the art form. But to a believer, any vehicle that can help convey sinners and the uninitiated to salvation is worth driving, as long as Jesus takes the wheel.