Expectations for the band’s ninth studio album are understandably high. No one, however, is holding the band to a higher standard than Lead vocalist Peter Furler. His ruthless pursuit of indelible pop hooks and devastatingly clever lyrics has resulted in not only the best release of his own considerable career, but one of the strongest releases the Christian market has seen in years. Influences as diverse as U2, INXS, and Moby intermingle with Furler’s fascination with new sounds, beats and samples to form a unique, but consistent palette for this batch of songs to dance upon. Never satisfied to re-tread ground they or others have covered time and again, the musicality on Thrive is more aggressive, confident and modern sounding than anything the band has released thus far. The guitars are bigger, the programming more inventive and the vocals more human and soulful. To top it off the band has re-enlisted their most successful production partner and lyricist to help bring this batch of songs to life.
The genesis of Thrive is really to be found in the creation of Shine; The Hits. “I wanted to do something different than most bands do,” Furler says of the album, “and that was to put a couple of new hits on it.” To craft these new “hits” Furler sought out the assistance and input of his long-time friend and partner, Steve Taylor. “When Steve and I got back together to write, things just picked up right where they had left off.”
“To thrive is really to sing that ‘cold and broken Hallelujah,’ to borrow a phrase from Leonard Cohen,” Furler explains of the title track and the album’s over-arching theme. “When you’re at that place you realize how hard it is to lose your ‘self,’ your ambitions and your instinct of self preservation. I’m hoping above all that it’s about what God’s doing in my life.”
Will you lift me up with tender care?
Will you wash me clean in the palm of your hand?
Will you hold me close so I can thrive?
When you touch me, that’s when I know I’m alive
Through energized and often humorous romps, (“Giving It Over,” “Live In Stereo,” “Cornelius,” “The Fad Of The Land,”) vulnerable and confessional mid-tempo tunes (“Million Pieces,” “Thrive,” “Rescue,”) or even flat out worship, (“It Is You,” “Lord (I Don’t Know),”) the songs challenge the conventional definition of the word “thrive” and reinterpret it through a Christ-centered lens. “It is our desire to please Him that pleases him, and that desire itself comes from Him.”
“I’ve got say,” Taylor adds, “I’ve been very impressed by Peter as a thinker. I’ve got probably five or six books he’s given me just this year. He’s a voracious reader. He’s always absorbing Chesterton, Merton, Yancey, and many more. One day I was working on some lyrics off in a corner while we were doing some transfers. I hadn’t brought my bible so I borrowed his. His bible was full, from beginning to end with stuff underlined, color-coded highlights, notes off in the margins and everything like that. It’s obvious that he’s a real student of the Word and he takes his faith very seriously. That’s inspiring to me when I write lyrics for him. I know they’re going to be sung by someone who really ‘gets it.’”
