Closer Look is a bit of a departure from currently popular Christian themed music. While the Christian music genre has tended, in recent years, to focus primarily on worship music or quot;church music,quot; these songs tend to be more in the vein of the 60's/70's storytelling or human situation type songs. Somewhat in keeping with that aspect of the musical style, the feel of this 14-song collection leans strongly toward a country rock or 70's light rock sound. Vocal harmonies / arrangements as well as guitar harmonies and more guitar work (both acoustic and electric) than is commonly heard with many currently popular styles are emphasized. There is even one song (Risen) that, while some vocals are present, is essentially a guitar instrumental that begins with soft acoustic guitar work but then builds to a sweet electric finale. To compare to something recognizable, Eagles or Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band influences are present at times, though the lead vocals are split almost in half on the album between male and female voices. Of course, both of those mentioned groups incorporated some female lead vocals on pieces from time to time so... Lyrical focus is intentionally somewhat straightforward, but still thought provoking and creative. From the upbeat and definitely country rock feeling quot;Closer Lookquot; (title cut) to softer songs like quot;If You Only Knewquot; or quot;Humbly Ever After,quot; these are songs about prompting the listener to consider things they maybe haven't already about themselves, God, and the situations and questions life dishes out to us all at times in general. Again, with a country rock feel that has proven, with time, to have remained very popular with music listeners and thoughtful creative lyrics, quot;Closer Lookquot; is certainly worth adding to your collection.
