Technicolor by Parachute Band

If there’s one overriding problem with Parachute Band’s newest EP, 'Technicolor,' it’s that it’s not always clear what the New Zealand band wants to recording to be. Is it meant modern-rock Christian album, designed to showcase the masterful skills of its strings players? There are several songs that do showcase the band in this way.

Or is it, instead, a traditional praise and worship album, with slow-moving anthems meant to rouse one to a state of worship? Most of the songs fit this description, and do it well. Parachute Band could have taken either of these approaches and done a fine job with it. Instead, they mixed the two together.

That’s not a bad thing, except if you bought it thinking it’s all-praise, you’re in for a surprise when you hear the intense, electric-guitar-driven ‘Glorious is Our God,’ ‘No Eye Has Seen’ and ‘Shout it Out.’

Having said that, the music itself, without regard to the strange mixture on the album, is quite good. As noted, the five young members of Parachute Band are expert musicians, and they’re not afraid to show off their skills on the guitars and drums. Yet they manage to do so without ever overpowering the lyrics, which are not at all bashful about their topic (they are unashamedly Christian).

And on the praise anthems we discussed, the band dutifully lets the heavy instrumentation take a back seat to melody - and the inspirational lyrics. ‘Everlasting’ and ‘Take Over’ are especially stirring.

Parachute Band has been making music since 1995, although none of the five current members were there at the beginning. Still, the current group does a fine job of keeping up with the musical styles of the day, yet never losing their edge. Their music is fresh and invigorating, even if the song-selection on this album was mildly puzzling.

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