Hillsong Young and Free ‘Youth Revival (Acoustic)’

Written by: Laura Chambers (3/23/2017)

Hillsong Young and Free ventures into the waters it seemed to float above, re-imagining the songs of Youth Revival as acoustic tracks. While some may dismiss their music as too party-go-lucky, they may change their mind after hearing these versions. The problem with some styles is that people can’t see past the genre to the heart of the singers.

“Only Wanna Sing”, for instance, slows its pace to a more intimate tempo, turning a rally cry into a heartfelt moment alone with God, while “When The Fight Calls” has female vocals take the lead. With a lone voice singing, the song seems more poignant than the original version, with one brave voice declaring her resolve to trust in God. The duet aspect of “In Your Eyes” seems more pronounced, increasing the “in-love” feeling this song has. A change in key and instrumentation makes it seem more like back porch (talented) amateur night.  “I Love You Lord/Passion” combines a portion of their song “Passion” from the original album with Laurie Klein’s short song. These might have been better off as separate tracks. “Real Love” sounds little different from the prior version aside from trading electronic sound effects for vocal ones. The studio version for this and “Falling Into You” are also included, perhaps for contrast’s sake.

If this is your first introduction to Hillsong Young and Free, I’d say you’ll get a pretty solid idea of their message, as it’s a bit easier to hear when you take away the dance music trappings. Youth Revival Acoustic gets to the heart of the lyrics and may inspire new listeners to check out Hillsong Y and F’s previous albums.

3.7/5