Listening & dancing to a new CD

 

The big kids were doing their homework, my baby was crawling around trying to get attention and find crumbs, and I was preparing dinner one recent afternoon while we were listing to the new CD from The Afters. We’d heard “Battles” on the radio so the kids were excited when they recognized that.

Then the fourth song, “Time Of My Life,” came on and we all stopped what we were doing and danced. When it was over, we played it again and danced some more. Ben, 6, declared it his favorite song and asked if he could take the CD to his room and listen on his Disc Man while Rachel – who turned 1 yesterday – clapped her hands over and over.

We managed to listen to the whole CD and danced in the kitchen during other songs. “Wake Up My Heart” is my other favorite, if you’re wondering. Really, my two favorites go well together: “Time Of My Life” is a celebration of where we are and where we are going, but “Wake Up My Heart” is an anthem to loving what God loves and seeing life as God sees it.

This is the first CD from The Afters I’ve owned, but I’m glad to have it and I expect we’ll be having some more dance parties in the kitchen with “Live On Forever” as our soundtrack.

About the band

Keep up with The Afters on their website and social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

About the album

While making this album, Josh Havens, guitarist and lead vocalist of The Afters, learned stories of trial and triumph aren’t just Bible stories. Miracles still happen, even when adversity hits.

Just as the band regrouped to record, Havens witnessed the wife of a close friend contract cancer. Drummer Jordan Mohilowski (who produced the new album) had a brief health scare, and a close companion in his church’s worship team was hit and killed by an impaired driver. And then the band’s longtime soundman, Anthony Martinez, saw his newborn daughter die in infancy.

But “Live on Forever” – the band’s fifth with the Fair Trade label – still took shape as a celebration of faithfulness, protection and promise. The album finds Havens in strong, soaring voice as he invites listeners to find shelter and strength in God.

“We worked on this record for almost two years and over those two years, it was a real season of loss,” Havens recalls. “But in the end, Live on Forever is about moving us to trust God, to stand up against fear. It’s an ‘ante up’ record, an anthem for people’s lives: ‘God you are with me in all this. I’m not alone.’”

Havens said “Battles” sums up the spirit of the album: “It was the last song we wrote and the fastest we wrote,” he says. “We don’t typically write songs fast; we’ll change lyrics and melodies and craft our songs carefully. But ‘Battles’ poured out, the music and lyrics, in one day. It’s about standing up against fear and knowing God is always with us,” Havens explains. “It’s one of the takeaways we hope people get: ‘Don’t give up to fear.

You can buy the album at Amazon or iTunes. And you can listen and learn more online through these videos – “Battles (Official Lyric Video)”, “Battles (Heart Of The Song),” “Live On Forever (Heart Of The Song),” and “Live On Forever (Official Music Video).”

Giveaway

So, who wants to win a copy? Use the Rafflecopter widget below for multiple ways to enter to win. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents through Thursday, Sept. 29.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I received a free copy of this CD from Propeller Consulting / FlyBy Promotions in exchange for a review, but these opinions are my own – and my kids’! Propeller / FlyBy is also providing a copy of this CD for the winner. If you have won this prize from another blog or another prize from Propeller / FlyBy in the last months, you aren’t eligible to win.