Favour – Fisherman

Favour
Fisherman
Sharlat Records (2016)
www.sharpradiogospelsuperfest.com

By Bob Marovich

On Fisherman, their six-track EP, Detroit quartet Favour is all about getting you ready…for your blessings, for a miracle, and for the day Jesus returns.

Favour is a sweet-singing quartet with the smoothness of Atlantic Starr and the Manhattans, though Shawn Upshaw’s lead vocal incorporates traditional gospel techniques. So do the lyrics, which fit squarely in the quartet mode of preaching, teaching, and in Favour’s case, preparing.

Indeed, two songs telegraph preparation in their titles: “Better Be Ready” and “Things are Gonna Happen.” And in “How I Know,” the group sings that the miracles of the Bible days can still happen today, and it can happen to you, so be on the lookout. “Things Are Gonna Happen” encourages listeners to keep the possibility of miracles top of mind as a balm against the onslaught of today’s tragedies.

The title track sets the group’s Soul Train-sweet mood from the start. Jesus makes his disciples fishers of men in “Fisherman,” and, by extension, anyone seeking discipleship today. But following Christ, sings Favour, means adopting Christian values of love, not hate.  We need to live, not kill.

Group manager, songwriter, arranger, and baritone Byron Brown gives the EP a crisp production, though it would have been even better with less electronic drums and synth, which at times take away from the serenity of the harmonies. It would be fascinating to hear Favour sing a cappella.

The group, which formed just a few years ago, consists of Brown, Upshaw, William Banks, and Jimmie Blee Palmer, with Derrick Maclin on bass guitar.

Three of Five Stars

Pick: “Fisherman”