While in Argentina, I declared my attendance to #LivreSeason and this past Friday, Livre’ released their debut album. Jericho: The Tribe of Joshua is a collective that stunningly scores the generational gap between traditional Gospel church vibes and the creative, progressive trajectory of today’s sound. Jericho highlights the beauty of the past and the promise of the future.
More specifically, the album gives a voice to the generation and individual who’s in a battle–whether it be addiction, depression, low self-esteem, or identity crisis. Each song–a piece to the collective puzzle that is Jericho–details an element of battle and the victory that is accessible when embedded in Christ.
#DoneGrayt is almost an understatement, this body of work is exceptional in its vocal arrangements, harmonies, production & sound universality, ability to inspire, and cross-generational appeal. Throughout the progression of the album, Livre’ will captivate you with the synchronization of their voices, the mesmerizing blend of various vocal layers, and the crossover and universal elements of their production. Furthermore, their individuality, freshness, and youthfullness goes a long way to inspire listeners to live their best and do their best!
Below are my top five song choices from Livre’s Jericho: Tribe of Joshua:
5. J.E.S.U.S.
The cinematic, classical (or Romantic, not sure) backdrop of this hymn-styled arrangement immediately captivates you. As the track proceeds, the fusion of the groups beautiful voices, harmonies, and arrangements with the background strings and instrumentation propels the beauty of Christ and the impact of Christ in one’s life. Octaves, octaves, octaves, octaves–as a safety warning, buckle your seat-belt and secure any hair extensions as the group attacks your safety and edges at 4:13 *insert hand-raised emoji*.
4. Jericho (A$AP Ferg Version):
Need to burn a few calories? Play this track and begin ambitiously creating Zumba choreography as the eclectic features of this A$AP Ferg assisted track spews warfare on any battle or struggle in your life. As my most anticipated track upon viewing the tracklist, the track characterizes the ultimate victorious theme of the album.
3. Watch Me
“Watch Me” is another eclectic track, packed with so much SO MUCH crossover potential (Internal thought: Gosh, only if inspirational music, such as this, was afforded the financial backing of today’s top hits!). Seemingly curated to inspire listeners to rise to their potential out of the ashes of their past, this track is filled with summer Instagram captions. #WatchMe use some!
2. Something to Live For
Something to Live For is curated for visual production–sonically, the simple percussion driven instrumentation coupled with the harmonious oooh’s and aaah’s drives home the redemptive message of the song. This song attests to the universality of the group’s sound and the magnificent arrangement of Jericho’s collection of musical offerings. Plus, the Brandy-ness of the tones and harmonies at the end *insert hand-raised emojis, again*.
1. Perception
The build-up of this track and how it plays into the perspective that the accumulation of life’s experiences will lead us to the need for a savior is what makes Perception my favorite track. Intriguing, the duality of the production and the message of track propels the rational that we all need a savior, a someone to take away something all humans experience–pain. Although the song doesn’t lean towards “Mary J. Blige: My Life” pain or “Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is” pain, the song captures diverse processes of painful experiences , with a hope that a savior will rescue. Furthermore, the addition of a child’s voice, throughout, adds to the innocence and helplessness that pain casts upon us. Amazing.
The Livre brand and Livre’s Jericho: Tribe of Joshua are important to culture and the albums messages in the song are important to your quest of victory. Definitely, #DONEGRAYT. Get it HERE!
