The Brave
Evie's Little Garden
2021 Independent
Produced By: Stayce Roberts
album cover
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Track Listings
Evie's Little Garden (4:40)
Run To You (4:50)
I've Always Wondered (4:17)
We're Not In Kansas Anymore (5:09)
Elevate Me (4:41)
Creep (5:45)
Lonely Bones (5:12)
If I Told You (4:09)
And We All Fall Down (4:47)
Lucid (5:10)
Come To Me (5:59)
Love: Automatic (4:01)
Musicians
Stayce Roberts: Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitar
Malcolm Paris: Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
John Spittle: Drums
I honestly don't remember now where I first heard that The Brave had a new album on the way, but I eventually found myself on their webpage and placed a pre-order for the CD. In retrospect I wish I had also picked this up on vinyl, but more on that later. Around July 2021 the album finally arrived in my mailbox...right in the middle of moving. The CD almost immediately was packed up with the rest of my music so it would be several weeks (months?) before I was able to finally drop this disc into player and give it a listen. Before I even had a chance to do that, I believe I heard the title track streaming on ChristianRock.net. I was immediately captured by the sound and sought out my disc. Ever since my first full listen I've had this album on repeat. When I'm not at home, I stream the album via YouTube in my car. Yes...I can't get enough!
Evie's Little Garden is the band's fourth album and their second independently released. I still haven't gotten the chance to check out their third album, Rise, but since I enjoyed their first two albums so much I figured pre-ordering this album was a safe bet. Boy, what an understand that was! Original guitarist, Stayce Roberts, now finds himself in the lead vocal role. In addition to providing the vocals, he wrote all the songs on the album. Let's just say Stayce is an incredibly talented musician...with everything he is able to do I'd compare him to Michael Sweet (Stryper) in terms of talent - guitar, vocals, song writing - what can't these guys do?!
Let's kick it off with the title track, Evie's Little Garden. If the album cover doesn't give it away, this song goes back to the garden where Eve was tempted by the serpent and as the chorus goes:
Somethings' goin' down in Evie's little garden
Somebody said they saw a snake
Hell's breaking loose down in Evie's little garden
And there's gonna be some Hell to pay
There ain't no garden anymore
There ain't no garden anymore
This is melodic rock at it's best! The vocal harmonies are awesome, especially during the chorus. The guitar hooks and riffs are filled with energy making this a fun song to sing along with. I can see why at the time of this post this song is trending so high on the ChristianRock.net playlists. As good as this song is however, we're just getting started!
Run To You is next up and is an excellent, CCM radio friendly (?) love song all about Christ's love for us and how we are called to share this love so that others eventually run to Him as well.
Elevate me is a reminder that we need God's love to elevate us from the world in which we live in. One line in particular that caught my attention:
Someone said that life is doing what you please
I don't want to catch anyone's disease
There's a higher call - listen to the sound
I need to feel alive before I'm in the ground
An early favorite of mine is the sixth song, Creep. The song opens up with some eerie sounding demons talking to one another before the music kicks in. This is probably the darkest song on the album, but a stark reminder of what waits for us if we don't accept God's love.
I look in your eyes - they dance while you sleep
A crime of neglect directly at me
Alone in your room this candle will show
My sinister eyes cast a familiar glow
You've fallen deeper and deeper but if you only knew...
That I creep into your room while you sleep
I write words on the wall to remind you
Of the life that you shared with me
All of the years are gone - where is the one I leaned on?
Just lie still...while I creep
Remember the time you reached out to me?
I thought you were mine for eternity
I witness the wings stretched over your bed
I'm suddenly cast to the fire instead
I'm falling deeper and deeper but if you only knew...
That I creep into your room while you sleep
I write words on the wall to remind you
Of the life that you shared with me
All of the years are gone - where is the one I leaned on?
Just lie still...while I creep
My life was a lie and you took it away
But now I will burn even more every day
All Fall Down has that classic Brave sound - big vocals on the chorus that make it so much fun to sing along with - a classic anthem sound if you will. Love: Automatic, the album's final song is another song that makes you want to crank up the volume and sing along with.
It's rare these days (at least for me) to find an album that I love from beginning to end. It always seems there are one or two songs that just don't do much for me and I'm looking for that skip button. I can honestly say that isn't the case here for me. True, there are some songs I prefer more than others, but every song on this album is great. I love the overall diversity. Just like Battle Cries was different from Trust as from Rise, Evie's Little Garden has an excellent mix of different styles. Run to You and Come to Me couldn't sound more different than Creep or If I Told You...and I love that! This just shows the creativity and talent in both the song writing and the musical abilities of the band. I really can't say enough about this album. For it to be an independently released album too is amazing as the artwork on the cover, insert and even the inlay and the disc itself is beautiful. The production values are fantastic as well. You can tell this project was a labor of love...I'm just sad that Stayce's brother, Randy, wasn't around to be apart of such a fantastic release. Seriously, if you're still reading this and you've liked what you've heard, I urge you to support these guys and head over to their website and pick up their album.
