Remedy Drive - Resuscitate

Remedy Drive survives breakup to sound more alive than ever.

Resuscitate

Artist: Remedy Drive (http://www.remedydrive.com)

Label: Centricity Music

Length: 10 tracks/36:43 minutes

The difficult road to Resuscitate by Remedy Drive began when lead singer David Zach’s brothers decided to leave and pursue other options. This was not a band on life-support but in the throes of demise. That such a solid release has emerged, one that must rank among their best work, is a tribute to Zach’s persistence and the synergy he has with the new members.

As Zach affirms in a couple of the songs, losing our way does not make us a lost cause. Crisis serves as a setting for the brokenness and hope that inform the lyrics.

On different note, if Coldplay helped bring the piano back to rock, Remedy Drive benefits from that legacy. The creative use of keyboards woven into the fabric of many of these songs is striking. They are the first sounds that you hear on the opening, “Better than Life.” They continually add a subtle and satisfying beauty to the well-crafted pop/rock found throughout.

I enjoy the latter and normally don’t gravitate towards heavier fare. Even so, the hard rock heard on the title track and “Make it Bright” are strangely beguiling. The raw energy makes these tracks explosive and compelling.

But have you heard the story of Elijah, the Old Testament prophet? God was not in the strong wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in the sound of a low whisper, a thin silence, which brings me to “God I Hope So.” It is not the sound of quiet desperation, but rather a hopeful longing. It’s an honest cry that yearns for a better day. It carries even greater weight than the heavier sounds in the aforementioned tracks. I appreciate the uncertainty because that’s what life is like. We can be certain of God but not much else.

Remedy Drive move toward modern worship on “Crystal Sea” and “Glory”. If the band was ever dead, this is life from the dead. They add their voice to that mighty throng that stands by the crystal sea.

The theme of the closing “Hold On” reminds me of the words from “Rock of Ages,” “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” When all is stripped away, we must depend on God.