The four members of new pop/rock band Seven Places say that they'd never recorded before entering the studio with Aaron Sprinkle to record Lonely For the First Time, their debut album. Hard to believe, based on the quality of this music.

Across the album's thirteen tracks, Seven Places defiantly sticks to encouraging and edifying the Body of Christ, seeing their mission as reaching out to modern church youth. I say "defiantly" because this is one rock band that would say "no thanks" to mainstream superstardom, if it came calling. So as you might expect, their lyrics steadfastly remain grounded entirely in scripture, highlighting various aspects of the Christ-centered life. Worship, devotion, forgiveness, eternity, fear, brokeness, and the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice on the cross are all explored with depth and non-clichéd terms. Instead of simply regurgitating Christianese words and phrases, Seven Places puts their ideas into poetry that's easier to relate to -- but thankfully, not dumbed-down.

Musically, they have a surprisingly confident sound that dances between edgy pop and electric, high-energy rock & roll. Aaron Sprinkle's deft influence is keenly felt on every track, taking these already good songs to the next level, with lots of musical twists and turns. But it's never overdone, never distracting, never over-produced, allowing the band and its music to really shine.

Robin Parrish