Leeland – Love is on the Move

Leeland – Love Is On The Move – Reunion – Released 8/25/09 – Reviewed by Tyler Hess

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Leeland broke out onto the national scene, with a bunch of young guys bringing their european rock worship style that hadn’t yet been saturated in the market with truly inspired songs and musicianship that brought the glow to many eyes in the scene.  It is hard to imagine that they are already releasing their 3rd full length album in such a short amount of time, but what is harder to imagine is how they have gone from those powerful songs to such a cookie cutter lifestyle.  I suppose it is the tendency to fall back to the mean and the fact that we’ve heard them a couple of times before makes it less shocking to hear their sound, but it seems that the band would be a bit more exploratory with what they do.

Leeland has a few things that work for them that will make any release by them acceptable to a large crowd of people.  First if all, it is amazing what name recognition will do for a band, especially when they attain to a certain level.  Just knowing the name is half the battle to selling records.  Beyond that, Leeland Mooring’s epic vocals make just about anything he sings something worth listening to.  This is all without mentioning the heart of the matter, which is the heart of the band.  Leeland’s lyrics are cutting and to the point, doctrinally and poetically sound.  For those who liked Leeland before, there isn’t a whole lot to change that opinion, other than that eerie feeling that we’ve heard this before, but probably better, from the same band!  I might be more accepting of that if it was my favorite style, but with this being more of a fringe sound for me, I don’t see a need for another album of the same ole stuff, even if they do what they do very well.

The obvious message throughout the songs is the love of God, be it that which He did on the cross or the love that moves us to act or the comfort received from that love.  Mathematically, everything seems to add up, lyrically and musically, but I don’t feel a spark to make this a must have, but far from a tosser.

Grade: C

Tracklisting:
1. The Door
2. Follow You
3. Via Dolorosa
4. Pure Bride
5. Carry Me On Your Back
6. New Creation
7. Lift Your Eyes Up
8. Weak Man
9.Love Is On The Move
10. Learn To Love
11. Holy Spirit Have Your Way
12. Bonus: My Jesus