Ethan KentWork in Progress
Tonic Blueprint/Central South Distribution
(released January 21, 2014)
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
TBGB’s first five star gospel project of 2014 is, of all things, a debut CD: Ethan Kent’s Work in Progress.
From Dallas, Ethan Kent loves an array of music styles—from gospel to jazz to hip hop, rock, and classical. It’s not surprising that he injects his album with a kaleidoscope of sounds that emerge as edgy electronica, freshly-popped melodies, and playful arrangements in the mode of Kirk Franklin’s “I Smile.”
The songs are as bright and optimistic as their lyrics, which instruct without preaching. “Lecture,” featuring Chanese Jones and Will Sanders, is intimate, friend-to-friend advice on not wasting one’s life on dangerous activities. “People,” featuring lovely vocals from Lauren Lee, reprises something songwriter Kenneth Morris said more than sixty years ago: that those who sing and preach the gospel should not be in it solely for what they can get out of it. “Human Tendencies” explores a similar subject, that of false people.
“My Hope is in Glory” is the current charting single and radio hit, but it is not the only captivating song on the album. Equally catchy is the neo-traditional “The Name of the Lord,” with its funky uptempo beat and Kent’s gospel shouting in the second half. It leads naturally to “Good to Me,” a contemporary fueled song of thanksgiving. “Always Be Around” is a touching ballad; its premise is that an earthly father may let his child down, but the heavenly father never will.
Kent’s argument behind “work in progress,” as he sings on the title track, is that we are imperfect, so our lifelong work to build the Kingdom of God is one of continuous growth. That may well be, but as far as albums are concerned, Work in Progress is finely tuned, as good a debut project as I have heard in some time.
Five of Five Stars
Picks: “My Hope is in Glory,” “The Name of the Lord.”
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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