Review: Third Day - "Wherever You Are"

Third Day - "Wherever You Are"
(Brentwood Music, 2005)

Third Day's one of those tried-and-true CCM "format bands" -- they write catchy rockers that please their core audience without ever having to stretch too far beyond their comfort zone. Wherever You Are doesn't change that, so if you haven't enjoyed the band's previous six studio albums you're unlikely to find anything here to change your mind. "Tunnel," which opens the album, features a typical Third Day hook, which if you can get past the cliché chorus ("There's a light at the end of this tunnel for you / There's a light at the end of the end of this tunnel shining bright for you ...") isn't a terrible track. The album progresses through another eleven like-minded tracks, including "Eagles" ("I will soar on the wings of eagles / I will learn to fly high above this world") and "Rise Up" ("Rise up my friend / this will never be the end / rise up my friend / and live again") which can't quite reach beyond a handful of weak cliches. The band should take a lesson from their contemporaries Jars of Clay if they want to learn how to craft an album that could expand its following beyond the Christian mainstream. This is not a groundbreaking album by any stretch, but that said, Wherever You Are is almost certain to become the biggest album of the year in its genre on the strength of melodic hooks alone.