How redundant it must be for some, writing and rewriting the pop song, drawing from the same well of thematic content. Ever since The Beatles asked that special someone to "Love, Love me do" myriads of musical artisans have found the inspiration for their craft in mulling over relationship issues: Weezer's looking for "a girl who acts like no one else", Phil Collins preaches the danger of the "easy lover", and Nirvana rocked with world with a longing little tune "about a girl." Yet, it still seems mandatory to preface a review of a band's work with a statement of their lyrical content when it extends into the religious. "The Billions? Oh yeah, they're Christian aren't they?" Perhaps so-called 'Christian bands' once shared a lesser stage as genre generic knock-offs to their MTV counterparts. With the cross-over success of bands like Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay, and in more recent days P.O.D. and Joseph Arthur, the legitimacy of rock and roll's quest to find God has been secured. Acts like Sunny Day Real Estate, Pedro the Lion, and Duvall experience a similar celebrity to their less-than-holy contemporaries.
Enter The Billions. On their newest release, The Billions take no pains to disguise their spiritual mission: to prove that songs written to and about God can be every bit as compelling as those about girls. The title track paraphrases the Bible, "I am the Son, so follow me" while "The Reason We Sing" clearly states, "I want you to know that the reason we sing is to let you know about the love God brings." Rather than detract from the music, however, the Billions engender a sincerity rarely found among their peers. The Billions aren't just preaching, they're creating. That having been duly noted, a proper examination of Never Felt This Way Before delves deeper than an mere expose of their Christian affiliation.
Never Felt This Way Before is an exercise in dense instrumentation. It is also a collection of catchy mid-tempo pop hooks. Many of the songs reach into the library of the collective consciousness. One has the sensation of having heard these tunes before without being able to pinpoint the time or place, a massive credit to the songwriting talents of Sam and Dan Billen. With the addition of permanent percussionist, Ken Komiya, The Billions have moved further from their electronic roots, as evidenced by their previously self-released Quiet as it's Kept. They create the rich, plush soundscapes without foregoing signature sing-along moments. That is to say, The Billions appear equally invested in creation and execution, with an emphasis on diversity.
True, Never Felt This Way Before has its moments of weakness. Songs like "My Life" trudge slowly along while "Another Lonely Day" strains against the momentum of the album, but these are the exceptions and not the rule. "I Won't Turn Away" and "Never Felt This Way Before" have enough captivating merit to carry a full-length CD. "Cure the Sea", in all its six-and-a-half minute glory, sonically depicts its Biblical subject, Jonah, with a vibrant ferocity.
Comparisons to veteran noisesmiths like The Cure and relative newcomers, Pinback, seem obvious. The Billions aren't really covering any new ground here; they're incorporating a specific brand of evangelizing into the independent music paradigm. As monotony and homogenization become the order of the day, bands like The Billions stand poised and ready to redefine the listeners' preconceptions. Never Felt This Way Before is a addendum to the current validation of Christian based bands and proof that fine songwriting is the hallmark of any credible band.
