Wide-Eyed and Mystified CD

The third album release from downhere carries on their sharp, clean modern rock sound with fresh arrangements and worshipful lyrics. Wide Eyed and Mystified includes "Surrender," "Dying to Know You," "The Real Jesus," and more.

Downhere belongs up there

If you haven’t discovered Canadian quintet Downhere by now, you have a couple records to catch up on; but Wide-Eyed and Mystified is a good place to jump in. It’s drive-with-the-windows-down fare that rocks more smartly and cleanly than ever. Production assistance from Grammy Award winners Greg Collins (U2, Gwen Stefani) and Mark Heimermann (ZOEgirl, Hyper Static Union) accentuates the smoothness of the band’s third effort.

Don’t be concerned if you find yourself singing, humming or contemplating the first track, “The More,” for days. When penning songs, Christian rock bands usually lean toward the melancholic or trite; but Downhere does neither. You won’t discover Coldplay-esque rip-your-heart-out odes; but an “I love Jesus,” skip-to-my-Lou verse is also nowhere to be found. Through the tight, cohesive guitar frameworks and level-headed chords, you glimpse something startling—maturity. Although relatively young, Downhere has played together long enough to exemplify striking maturity both spiritually and artistically. Since its self-titled debut in 2001, the band has achieved a seamless union of harmonies, melodies and lyrics that doesn’t strain toward notoriety but fills its own shoes fully and gracefully. Many bands would do well to mark the way Downhere has claimed its alt-rock sonic individuality and polished it to a dazzling sheen.

And the lyrics on Mystified indicate a deep, seasoned relationship with the Lord, subtly interweaving paraphrased scripture with themes of love and surrender as on the powerful “Little Is Much”: “What is the measure of a life well lived?/If all I can offer seems too small to give/This is a song for the weaker, the poorer and so-called failures/Little is much when God’s in it/And no one can fathom the plans He holds.” Some of the finer moments on the 13 tracks are owed to songs such as the impressive “Dying to Know You” that are capped with co-lead Marc Martel’s vocal prowess. He boasts a stunning range, a la Kevin Max down to the finality of a deeply masculine vibrato. Though not as obvious, lead singer Jason Germain’s voice is gritty, versatile and anchors fine tunes such as “A Better Way.” “Stir” jams out in the intro and progresses into more fantastic guitar work than we’re privy to elsewhere. Later on the album, “Remember Me” offers a soulful and poignant translation of the last supper: “So we drink the wine and break the bread/Our senses will remind our heads/From now until Kingdom come...the promise that will not be overturned.”

In the words of your mother: Get Downhere…now.

ANDREA BAILEY – CCMMagazine.com

It was the decision that every band hates to make – especially after losing its record deal. But it’s one that Canadian rockers Downhere were recently forced to make: Is it time to hang up the music thing or press on?

“Losing your record deal could be taken as a door closing and time to move on,” says the band’s bassist, Glenn Lavender. “We are always prepared to do that if that is where we feel God is leading us. But after much prayer and time together talking through things, we realized that now isn’t the time to stop. We still have a lot to say and much more room to grow musically and as a band. We decided we needed to get serious about what we do as a band, as a business and as representatives of Christ.”

And getting serious didn’t immediately mean heading to the studio to work on new songs. Instead, in Jerry Maguire fashion, Downhere crafted its mission statement, or as the band calls it, a document titled “The Way We Do Downhere.”

“This really helped us focus on what we wanted to do as a band and what things are important to us,” Lavender explains. “It helps us with our everyday decision-making because we can always come back to it and say, ‘Does this fit in with our plan?’ It was also something we could present to our new label and say, ‘Here, this is who we are! These are our priorities, and this is how we want to run our business. Will you come alongside and join us?’”

And after several meetings with different labels, it turned out that the team behind Centricity Records was up for the challenge.

With a new record deal in place, Downhere was ready to begin work on its third album, "Wide-Eyed and Mystified," a title that vocalist Marc Martell says “actually describes our state of the band even more than it describes the album itself.

“The title hints at a more childlike and non-jaded approach to the way we do things,” Martell clarifies. “Our last album really pointed some fingers, and there are a couple of songs on there in particular that almost make me cringe – not because of the musicality but the way some things were said. We had kind of the Keith Green prophetic approach of saying, ‘Hey everybody! This is not right! Wake up! Let’s do better!’ Don’t get me wrong; I love Keith Green, and there’s a place for that. But sometimes those methods are abrasive in the wrong sort of way. I’m rarely inspired when someone’s standing there pointing out all my faults instead of going out and leading by joyful example.”

And with "Wide-Eyed and Mystified," which released earlier this year, there’s plenty of joy to be found, not only in the catchy pop/rock soundtrack that’ll have listeners singing along in no time but also in a new excitement about the saving message of the Gospel.

“Every believer remembers what it was like to first encounter the Gospel and surrender to Christ’s call,” Martell adds. “And the fact that we’re still mystified by Him is what keeps us going. It’s what keeps artists creating. As a perfectionist, it’s easy for me to be critical about every note of music I hear on the radio. But I still want to believe that, for the most part, people are writing from a place of true sincerity – a response to what they see in life – even if it doesn’t appeal to my music snobbery because it’s not terribly original sounding. Instead, let’s be the artists we were made to be, drawing from the source of eternal creativity. Let’s keep on romancing the church, and let’s keep on romancing the world – just like God is. That says a lot about our role as musicians. This is the direction we’re going, and we hope lots of people will come along.”

Christa Bannister, 2006

Average Rating:

8 of 11 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)

Reviewed by Jutta Mcmahon (Rehoboth, MA), November 11, 2009

Love it! Classic Downhere Style!! These songs immediately become part of your personal favorite collection.

Reviewed by Linda Dockerty (Kokomo, IN), March 22, 2009

The more music I hear from Downhere the more I like them. I like my Christian music to have a little life but not too rappy or hard rock sounding. Downhere fits the bill perfectly.

Reviewed by MomHenderson (Portland, TX), January 16, 2008

With all honesty this is the best album I've ever heard. Take inspiring, in debth lyrics, combind with fabulous vocals then you have Wide Eyed and Mystified. Everyone in my family loves at least some of the songs. Aside from the always mention "The More", "A Better Way" and "Little Is Much", songs toward the end are as meaningful as the first three songs. Taxiing my son & his Basketball team members (high school), they particularly love "1000 Miles Apart" and "I Miss You Here" Keep in mind they are NOT Christian music fans. "1000 Miles Apart" could be a huge hit on mainstream radio if the label ever released it. It's about racial and ethical prejudice and how "It not our houses, it's our hearts 1000 miles apart". This CD is for those from 3 to 103.

Reviewed by Sara Behrends (Wauneta, NE), January 13, 2008

I would have to say that this is in my top two or three for favorite albums of the year. I absolutely love the sound of this group, and honestly cannot fathom why they aren't more well-known. If you haven't discovered Downhere, this is the album to do it with! The tenor in this group is phenomenal, with a range that can't be emulated by anyone currently singing Christian or secular music. And these songs are fantastic. I find myself going back to this CD time after time. I should probably purchase another one in case something happens to this one! Keep it up, guys!

Reviewed by JJ (Pennslyvania), November 18, 2007

WOW! Just WOW! This has to be one of the best albums I ever heard. 13 songs, each of them terrific and worthy of much radio play. Why this group isn't as big as Casting Crowns or Third Day, I cannot comprehend. Every song is just terrific. The first three songs stand out as the best, but the rest are awesome as well. And no, this is NOT a Greatest Hits album. Downhere is just this good.

Reviewed by Steven (Waterford Michigan), August 30, 2007

I originally first heard and was slightly impressed by Downhere back in 2001 with there self-titled debut. I really liked a few tracks on the album, but I did not feel it was truly a ground-breaking or great album. Not bad but not spectacular either. When their "So Much For Substitutes" album was released in 2003, I could not believe the progress that they had made in just one album. Truly one of the greatest Christian albums I have ever heard and criminally underrated, "SMFS" was an amazing blend of spiritually focused/provocative lyrics and creative musicianship. But I have to say their 2006 release, "Wide-Eyed and Mystified" has to be one of the biggest dissapointments I have ever heard from any band in any musical genre. Although lyrically they do not lose their spiritual focus which I definately appreciate, contrary to some of the other reviews on this site that does not make this a great album!" There is one song on this album I really like and sounds like it could have been placed on "SMFS", "A Better Way". Every other song on this album, although not all terrible, really isn't even worth a second listen and does not grow on you with time. Very dissapointing, hopefully their next album truly "Mystifies", the way this album certainly did not...

Reviewed by Kent Henderson (Kinston, NC), August 07, 2007

This Cd is fantastic. We met these guys about 5 years ago playing for 45 kids at a youth rally. We thought their writing was thoughtful and the music was inspiring. "Wide-Eyed" is such a great balance of creative instrumentation and shared lead vocals. It feels more like a journey than a bunch of radio-formulated songs, yet several have you singing along the first time through! Keep up the good work guys. For listeners burned out on the "it-all-sounds-the-same" music that we hear so much of, this is your cure!

Reviewed by Jamie McDonald (Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada), January 19, 2007

Downhere has a fresh, unique sound that I find very appealing. "Remember Me" is a good example. Many of the songs are creative, honest-to-God worship. "Surrender" is one of many examples. There's also a lot of heart-felt "I and You" or "you and me" conversation taking place that speaks to the vertical (God) and horizontal (neighbor) relationships we must continually nurture. All-in-all, a wonderful album worth purchasing and playing for many years to come!

View all 11 Reviews

Write a review of Wide-Eyed and Mystified CD

• Genre >> Rock
• Music
• Music >> General
• Start A New Christianbook.com Search

I'm the author/artist and I want to review Wide-Eyed and Mystified CD.