CD Review – Third From First – Time
Artist: Third from First
CD Title: Time
Style: Indie Alt Rock
Website: http://www.thirdfromfirst.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thirdfromfirst
Store: http://www.thirdfromfirst.com/store/
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Playlist
1. Live the Change – 5:11
2. Time – 5:50
3. Contagious – 4:42
4. Belong to You – 7:48
5. Break Away – 5:10
first off let me just say that I am no stranger to the guys of Third from First. I believe they were one of the first local bands I saw when I started to going to the shows at the NET outreach in butler. At the lat show I went to, which was a CD release Party for Third from First and About a Mile marked my fourth time seeing them perform live. Back in May I reviewed their previous Cd “The Beginning” and you can read that review here, but you’re not hear to read and old review, you are here to read a new review.
At first looks the CD was not what I expected. At 5 songs the CD sounded more like an EP Demo disc than a Full fledged album. This thought was was quickly set aside when I got to actually listen to the CD. With the shortest song coming it at almost 5 minutes and the longest one pushing 8 minutes, the CD is longer than you expect and filled with good music. I want to take a little time here to explain the name of the band since I believe that it will help you to understand the CD better. Steve Lowry, Lead Vocal explained to me that as Christians we need to put God first, others second and ourselves Third, so that makes us all Third from First. A sentiment I completely agree with. Here is Third from first playing their song Time live at the CD release Party.
The CD sounds professionally recorded and mixed, I mention this because with Indie Bands this is not usually the case. Having seen the band perform so many times I was aware of just how talented they all are as musicians and it is good to hear that reflected in the CD, Each of the songs on the Cd also stand on their own as individual songs. while the CD as a whole is without a doubt a Alt Rock Album the songs do not blend into each other. Likewise the CD still has the sound of the previous CD without sounding like just more of the same. I am pleased to end to find that this CD has neither of these weaknesses
I find myself comparing the CD to the many times I have seen the band play live and I am reminded about the one thing I found most striking during their live performance was that during the middle of the set, when the crowd was at its most lively and interactive the band just broke out into worship. They took all the energy in the room that was focused at them and directed it towards God. They do the same thing on the Album with “Belong to you”. The words of the song speak for themselves.
Take my heart
Take my mind
Take my will
Take my life
Take it all
Make me new
By your grace
I belong to you
River of life
pour down on me
I once was blind
But now I see
You took my hand
You called my name
In your flow
You drowned my shame
Overall “Time” is a rock solid album that if a bit longer I would have no problem putting it up against any of the popular big named bands. Third from first is clearly a band that should be playing on a much larger stage to much larger crowds. This is something I for one, expect to happen in the future. Until then however I am going to enjoy the concerts where I actually get to hang with the band and don’t have to watch from the cheap seats.
I’m giving “Time” 4 stars out of 5 with the only real minus being the length of the CD. Even with the longer songs, when the CD was over I found myself wanting a couple of more songs. As the second CD from “Third from First” I do find that it is a clear step up from their freshman CD and the songs show a good bit of maturity. You will be hearing more from the band on the podcast in the future and with the CD running at only 7$ on the bands store it is a no-brainer on picking up some good music.
