Worship Review // Phil Wickham // Ascension

I will say, straight away, anyone who knows me, knows I am a huuuuge Phil Wickham fan!

You know what, I may also be a little biased, The fact that I had this albums preordered day
one (the t-shirt package) kind of confirms that. So that being said, there are two reasons you
should listen to this album. 1. You might not be able to trust my review. 2. Its a great album.
From the anthemic, sing from your heart “When My Heart Is Torn Asunder” to the
Christmassy feel of “The Ascension” this album hits a lot of key factors for a successful
Christian album:

> Songs for a worship set
> Songs for a youth worship set
> Special songs
> Songs for Loops and Multi Tracks
> Songs for background walk in/walk out music
> A CD that would be at home in my car on a long trip.

When looking at new music, I break it down into what the songs are physically doing. This
approach, although not always great for appreciating musicality, and artistry, allows for much
greater ease when planning through service orders, events, and worship moments during mid
week planning. It allows for you to say “i need a song that sounds like….” or “I need a song
which does this: …..” and find one quickly.

Track 1 // The Ascension
Opens with the iconic Phil Wickham Falsetto, building quickly with Drums, before dropping
down to a low verse.
This whole song feels very Christmassy, the vocal lines, and bells really amplify this, perhaps
there will not even be an acoustic Phil Wickham Christmas Album this year (although I thought
we may have been getting some sort of “Singalong: Christmas” this December) and this will
have to do for a Christmas Special from Phil.

Track 2 // Holy Light
The intro is over quickly but not before we get a taste of the kind of loops and sounds we
heard from Worship Central’s version of “At Your Name”. Maybe Phil took note of the style from
his friends across the pond.This is a good example of a song that could be used either as a special,or even rearranged some to be used during a worship set. Probably more of a college/young adult set though…

Track 3 // Carry My Soul
More falsetto, so far every song has had it. Nice to hear that he is sticking to the style that his
fans want to hear. Opening with acoustic is a nice touch, and the feel of heavy drums and
ethereal sounding synth and vox makes this song have that airy feel we like to hear.

Track 4 // This Is Amazing Grace
Big opening with saw style synth, electric guitars, and drums that cut through the mix. I’m
super stoked to get my hands on the loops and multi tracks for this song.
This song is specifically written for the church to sing, and it has already been making its
rounds!

Track 5 // Over All
Again the song starts with vox oooh line, and synthy sounds. Seems like this is the feel for the
album. It works!  Describing how God is over all aspects of our lives, this is a great song for a church to sing, especially so for youth groups who seems to be looking for this kind of message in a song a lot.

Track 6 // When My Heart Is Torn Asunder
Starts with the Phil Wickham acoustic/pad/piano feel.
The Chorus is probably my favourite from whole album, if not from any song this year!!!
It gets in my head, and my heart, and i just want to sing it loud all day long!!
The vocal line (which we see a lot of now in songs) is a good one, which could be used for
multiple purposes, even an intro from a previous song during a worship set.

Track 7 // Mercy
This is definitely a filler song on the Album. Could be used a special song during a service, but
only if you are comfortable singing falsetto.

Track 8 // Glory
There are song weird, but awesome percussion sounds going on in the intro here, before
dropping down to piano for the first verse.
BIG chorus, this is defiantly one that could be used as that elusive medium tempo song in a
worship set.

Track 9 // Tears Of Joy
Opens with a chugging acoustic guitar feel. With bells, and of course falsetto, this is another
Christmassy feeling song. The drums start to mimic the guitars chug with a snare roll after the
chorus which allows for a nice build that doesn’t seem forced or too epic. A brass section joins
in toward the end, which really cements this Christmassy feel.

Track 10 // Wonderful
Tight drums, and synth again. This is a really good version of the acoustic “Singalong 2” track.
During the chorus there is the hint of a large group singing in the background which leads me
to wonder if he used some of the recording from the Singalong 2 track to layer it? Sounds
great.

Track 11 // Thirst
The intro begins with electric guitar delay with marching snare, and vox.
This is a pretty slow song, almost disappointing at the end