JESSIE REIMER
Staff Writer
With profound lyrical content coupled with an extraordinary voice and warm tone, singer/songwriter Bethany Dillon creates a therapeutic cleansing for the soul on her new album,“Waking Up.” It features brilliantly intimate, spiritual vocals that compliment her mature pop-rooted musicality.
On the album, Dillon offers insight on faith, love, adolescence, and the human experience as she explores the concepts of sorrow, pain, brokenness, weakness and other human shortcomings. Overall, Dillon expresses the necessity of pain in order to experience the light and the joy of Jesus Christ.
Hailing from Bellefontaine, Ohio, Bethany Dillon began recording professionally at the tender age of 12. In 2004, Dillon completed her self-titled debut album, which earned her Female Vocalist and Best New Artist Dove nominations. Now 18, Dillon released “Waking Up” on April 3 as her third studio album under Sparrow Records.
Dillon, who writes, plays, sings and performs her own original music, captivates listeners with her deeply spiritual lyrics. As a Christian, Dillon’s lyrics reflect her passion for Jesus and aim to praise and glorify him through her music. Her power pop sound emphasizes her clear, rich vocals and impressive range.
The title track, “Waking Up,” clearly highlights Dillon’s passion for her faith as she sings, “I was dead/ So you became my life/ I couldn’t see/ So you became my eyes.” According to Dillon, she drew much of her inspiration for “Waking Up” from a recent mission trip she took to India.
The acoustic pop ballad “Beggar’s Heart,” addresses the humility of the human condition when faced with the hardships of life. Dillon wrote the track while traveling on a train through India as she saw the poverty-stricken children and pain-ridden people. On the track, Dillon sings, “All the things I know suddenly seem so small.”
The first single, “The Kingdom,” talks of overcoming the fight to reach the light, one step at a time, as Dillon assumes the role of a woman who cannot conceive. “Teach me how to hum it/ Because I don’t know the words yet,” sings Dillon.
The track “Come Find Me” features a haunting piano intro and a minor chord progression that screams with pain and confusion. Amidst it all, Dillon sings, “Come find me/ I’ll be waiting for you to rescue me.”
The softer and slower feel of “Let Your Light Shine” features an upbeat and catchy chorus, but delves deep into human insecurity. Dillon accepts her imperfections as she sings “Gently welcoming the weakest things in me.”
Also in “Beggar’s Heart,” Dillon describes her own personal take on her faith as she bares all singing, “When you build, it feels like you tear me apart/When you heal, it always leaves a scar/And even when you fill, you always leave me with a beggar’s heart.” This perspective recognizes pain and hardships as a necessary aspect of life.
From the catchy radio-friendly pop track, “When You Love Someone,” to the beautifully orchestrated ballad, “You Are On Our Side,” Dillon proves a genuine young singer, talented beyond her years.
The thirteen tracks of “Waking Up” provide listeners with an intense and heart-felt spiritual experience woven into a unique blend of pop, rock, acoustic and folk music.
04-05-2007