Fuse ‘Wildfire’ EP

Written by: Laura Chambers (05/19/2017)

The grade 6-12 ministry of  Newspring Church, Fuse (Student Ministry), comes out with Wildfire, a six song album that merges the most natural longing in the world with synthetic and organic sounds to create something worth a moment or two of our time.

“Evidence” points to faith as the proof that something invisible is happening inside of us with very visible results. The changes God accomplishes in our lives inspire us to dance. Because we belong to Him, we don’t have to hide or run from him. “Wildfire” compares a passionate heart to an out of control flame kindled by God’s intervention in our lives. The music’s a little on the slow side given the song’s imagery, however. “Shadows” sees the light amid the darkness and recognizes its Source. Every verse concludes by looking to Jesus, trusting Him completely. He chases the darkness out of our lives.

“Every Mountain” basks in the bright light of God, who climbs every obstacle with us in His arms. Rather than bowing to dread and disgrace, we can combat them both by looking to God. “Just Like You Did” tells of Jesus’ heart for us and His decision to give His life to rescue us. The title comes into play at the end, where the singer vows to live devoted to Jesus’ calling (“I live for Your cause/Just like You did“), having taken both His grace and the great cost into consideration. “No Greater Love”, while repetitive,  is my favorite track of the six, for its simplicity. Continuously pointing towards Jesus as the ultimate source of satisfaction, there is nowhere else we could find what we have in Him. There’s a recording at the end from some sermon. Although it’s on the same topic, it feels oddly out of place. But I understand why they added it to the song rather than include it as a short track at the end – listeners might have skipped it otherwise.

Though Wildfire is lyrically consistent with God’s character, it fizzles out most of the time from a musical standpoint. It’s headed in the right direction, but isn’t quite there yet.

3.7/5