Funny how things work out right? I’m scheduled to play the drums on our praise team at church this weekend and when I looked at the song list to prepare for the weekend, I saw we had a new song by Bethel Music featuring Amanda Cook, and the name of the song we are doing is “You Make Me Brave“.
While I know Bethel Music, I also thought I recognized the name Amanda Cook when I saw the song, but I wasn’t quite sure why until I started going through my editorial calendar for this blog. I then realized why the name was familiar to me – I had received a debut solo album, Brave New World by artist, Amanda Cook, from Bethel Music to review and share with all of you. How awesome is that!
So I’ll start out telling you who Bethel Music is (in case there’s a remote possibility you don’t know): Bethel Music is a community of worshippers pursuing the presence of God and sharing life together. They are songwriters emerging from Bethel Church in Redding, CA.
Now, about Amanda Cook: Growing up in the middle of Canada with a farmer worship pastor for a father, the foundation of Cook’s early life was worship. Amanda had space to imagine, and her parents created an atmosphere for Cook to begin to practice her craft. As a young girl, music was an outlet and expression, but worship was a way of life. She knew that her life was directed unto someone else.
Still, there are things about the nature of God that are revealed slowly, and many of these revelations become declarations on Brave New World. The most poignant of these are sung through “Kind” and “Mercy.” Like Sundays as a child, these songs become markers along the voyage. They are pauses of praise, and they come in part through understanding who God is not. “Kind,” a song Cook describes as subtle and brooding, promises that God is not a powerful tyrant who operates like humans. Instead, He is kind like a father. For Amanda, these songs proclaiming the nature of God are personal moments of contemplative prayer declared from years of wrestling.
Amanda’s album releases on September 25th, and it features 13 original songs. The reveals the themes, confessions and heart of Amanda Cook in a dynamic, melodic and ethereally rich atmosphere of worship. Intentionally crafted like a painting made with strokes of melodies and chords, the album invites listeners to experience Cook’s recorded journey of discovery, permission and mystery.
For Cook, the journey to Brave New World began with her song, “You Make Me Brave,” which became the anthemic title track to Bethel Music’s Billboard Top 10-selling album released last year. The message and process of writing, recording and leading the song in worship, gave Cook the opportunity to explore what it is like to live in a world without anxiety, a world absent of fear in the presence of God’s perfect love.
“If we were on a ship in the ocean, every water drop in that ocean is a testimony of His nature and His goodness,” says Cook. “The vastness of that picture is what I want people to encounter in this album. These songs are droplets, and they are precious to me, because I’ve spent time in that water. I hope that these water droplets invite people in. We have a kind God, a merciful God, a God who doesn’t hide his heart in pieces. I want to expose the little pieces I know in my heart to be true.”
With three-time Grammy-nominated, and twice Dove Award-winning Producer of the Year, Jason Ingram, plus one of Nashville’s most in-demand producers and drummers, Paul Mabury, sharing producer credits on the album, the pair also teamed up with Cook to write for the album. “Jason and Paul essentially pastored my heart through the making of this album,” says Cook, who also co-wrote two songs with Bethel Music’s Steffany Gretzinger.
For Amanda, the new songs proclaiming the nature of God are personal moments of contemplative prayer declared from years of wrestling. “Kind” promises that God is not a powerful tyrant who operates like humans, but rather like a kind father. “Pieces” is a bold declaration of God’s nature while “Heroes” compels a listener to dance even amidst disappointment, trusting that God has our best interests in mind. In “City of Hope,” Cook responds to the mercy and kindness of God, expounding on a passage in Isaiah that points to a beautiful dwelling place.
For all the latest Bethel Music and Amanda Cook news, go to www.bethelmusic.com. You can also catch Amanda Cook on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! You can preorder Amanda’s new album, “Brave New World” over at iTunes =====> HERE!!
Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this album without cost in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion, and trust me – that opinion is that I LOVE this album!
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