If their last record was a light-in-the-darkest-places announcement that "the end is really just the beginning," then Downhere’s latest Centricity Music release arrives as an artfully textured but heartfelt declaration that, "True progress might mean we have to go backwards." As students of history, Jeremy, Jason, Marc and Glenn have come to recognize and appreciate the fact that their faith is not simply their own—but that it’s part of a much larger communion of believers that stretches across cultures and thousands of years. And while we might have the privilege of bearing that torch during the short span of our own lives, they would say it’s important to recognize it’s not a torch we lit. It’s one that was passed to us by generations of faithful saints, and it’s one that we’ll soon enough be passing on to those who follow us.
At first blush that might sound like a heady concept for a pop album, but what Downhere has somehow managed to do is to translate those great truths into the most pop-friendly record they’ve engineered to date, carving out lush and hook-laden aural landscapes, complimented by a lyrical approach that feels personal and intimate. Or, to put it another way, On the Altar of Love is thoroughly passionate, but never preachy.
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