Album Review: The Saving One by Starfield

Listen & follow along with the first 3 songs @ Starfield Online.

01 The Saving One*
The first thing I thought when I heard Tim's voice was that it had changed quite a lot! It's still the same old great vocals though. A great title track! Excellent drum fill @ last chorus!! W000 you'll wanna turn this one up REAL loud ;D

02 Rediscover You
I think I've heard the tune before, just not sure where. Some great lyrics on this track. It sounds like a brave passionate confession: one that you can get excited about but is no less contemplative.

03 Declaration of Dependence
"More than temptation's kiss" is my favourite line in this song. Digging the strong power beat and drums. I have a friend who's been struggling a bit in her faith & I think I might send her a few of these encouraging ones.

04 No Other Saviour*
The fading beat sounds like that Massive Attack song they use as the theme song for House. Really strong & rich chorus. Great build to the end!!!

05 Something To Say
First quiet track. Probably the most confession-based lyrics. Tim hits new heights with his voice in this one! Love the build near the end. Beautiful song!

06 Absolutely
This would be great acoustic. It's got a chorus that's easier for me to feel than to say.
I want to add that when Starfield makes one-word titles, that word is at least 3 syllables. I like that. (I just do, ok?)

07 Overwhelm
Probably my least favourite track on this album. The chorus is pretty awkward and the song could use a bit more work, in my opinion. Not bad, but if I was going to leave a track out, it would be this one.

08 Top of Our Lungs*
Whoa, Starfield techno! Or at least the closest thing to it. I bet you anything this is the song they use to open every concert when touring this album. It's hard to make a near monotone chorus work, but they make it work here!! And it gets more interesting near the end! Great work on this one.

09 Glory is Rising (a.k.a. Beautiful the Sound)
This track goes on my "List of songs with my name in the lyrics." (Yeah, I have one.) Other than that, nothing sticks out for this track. (Haha I'm so self-absorbed.)

10 (I Need a) Father
Pretty good, as father-based songs go. Again, probably more powerful as an acoustic song, but nice.

Overall, a 3.5/5, I think. I wouldn't say it's better than their last album, I Will Go, but then again I feel like this is exactly what I need right now. Thanks again, Starfield! Can't wait to hear this one in concert (hope they're still touring for it when I get back to Canada!!!).

* Favourites


Jesus, You have me completely
Every breath that I breathe
I am absolutely in love
Jesus, I am Yours forever
All of me surrenders
I am absolutely in love with You

Graduating

With a lot of prayer and a little luck I'll be graduating with my BA from York this spring. Or at least that's how it's been working so far. I received an email on Monday from my graduation assessor that although my application was late (like I would know. I was living it up in Japan.) as long as he had my final transcript from Koc by the second week of May I could graduate on time. Yay! My only concern about that is of course the fact that final exams here are scheduled for the first week of June. Last semester, all the professors were lenient about early finals since most of the exchange students had to leave early, but they didn't also need their transcripts early. Our transcripts for last semester weren't mailed out until the second week of February: about a month after final exams.

Before leaving, I wasn't too concerned about graduating with my class. I thought that graduating in the fall would be just as good and doable. However, recent occurrences have made me think more about working abroad next year, which poses a serious threat to me attending the fall convocation in (November?) 2010. (My mom would KILL me if she didn't get to see me graduate and take photos of me in a gown and silly cape-thing.) This would make a timely graduation more attractive.

Hey, nothing's set in stone yet, so no need to worry too much yet. (Telling myself that won't stop me from warming up my worry machine though.) (On a semi-related subject, a sleep machine should do more than help you sleep; it should sleep FOR you! That's false advertising.) Anyway, I'm off to watch some Turkish TV, read my book on religion and international conflict resolution (really interesting), and recuperate from this rather aggressive cold I'm now fighting. Wooooo!

Grand Adventures

It was one of my New Year's Resolutions to write more. Needless to say, it has not gone very successful thus far. That failure aside, I have been very busy! Ten days in Hong Kong, two weeks in Japan, and one week in London have made for the most eventful month-long vacation of my life. I've done some things I've always wanted to do, seen some things I've always wanted to see. Allow me to mention some highlights.

• Finally made it to East Asia
• Become so accustomed to eating with chopsticks that spoons seem foreign
• Hiked mountains in search of adventure
• Seen sumo wrestlers, geishas, and punk lolitas in the same city
• Eaten fish so fresh it had been caught mere hours previous
• Seen the fragile pink blossoms (plum, not cherry) symbolic of Japanese springtime
• Shopped for outrageous fashion trends
• Felt a part of ancient Asian cultures and traditions
• Seen the Pacific Ocean from its western border
• Made friends with Japanese schoolchildren
• Slept in a capsule hotel
• Seen Mt. Fuji
• Strolled along the River Thames
• Lived (really lived) in cities that are ancient, artistic, and intentional - something that can't readily be found in North America
• etc.

There is so much more to say, and I have it fairly well catalogued in my mind, in photos, and other more tangible things, so it'll stay there for now.

I've also had several shocks to my system and sometimes reshocks upon leaving these places. Numerous time zone changes, altitude changes, climate adaptations, languages, beds slept in, new friends met and separated from - all the while living out of one suitcase. I won't miss that part of lengthy travel stints. I'm really looking forward to being stationary for more than one week at a time and even going back to the routines of school, friends, and church life. Indeed, my travels have given me an appreciation for routine and stability in life that I never had before. I had always thought these things were what people resigned themselves to when they no longer expected to get much excitement or enjoyment out of their situation. But no, there is value in it: a value that I had overlooked. I won't go so far as to say that my wandering spirit has been satisfied, but at least it has met its opposite: the spirit of home.