All In

Rejuvenated and refocused, Stellar Kart aims high and hits the mark on All In, the band’s fifth studio album. There’s never been a question about the Arizona-bred punk/pop unit’s hyperkinetic drive or unshakable Christian faith. This time, though, Stellar Kart has upped the ante with crisper arrangements and more substantial, Scripture-based lyrical content. Frontman Adam Agee tempers his trademark brashness with a matured perspective, while the band benefits from the recently recruited Aleigh Shields’ propulsive bass work. The overarching theme of All In is God’s love for a flawed humanity, captured in the buoyant opener, “Criminals and Kings,” and the ringing final number, “Ones and Zeroes.” Moving away from strictly electric sounds, SK combines acoustic guitar and a surging rhythm section on the anthemic “All In (Apologize)” and keeps piano at the center of “Time’s Not Waiting.” The album veers from frenetic upbeat tunes (“Hollywood Reality,” “Nowhere to Go but Up”) to dynamic, worshipful ballads (“Before and After,” “My Surrender”) without strain. Stellar Kart lives up to its potential in these musically sharp, consistently reverent tracks.