Ripen

Shawn McDonald's breakthrough album, Ripen (2006) was such a success because it gave contemporary Christian Music a new dimension. Sure, there have been singer/songwriters before him, and folk-based artists doing CCM, but what makes McDonald different is the same thing that's made secular artists from his hometown of Seattle so different: it's darker, richer, deeper than other pop. It was Elton John who sang the words, "It feels so good to hurt so bad/ And suffer just enough to sing the blues." Melancholy makes us feel alive, and helps us appreciate more of what life has to offer. Shawn McDonald would embrace that lyric.

McDonald likes to use something rare in CCM: minor keys. Whether it's a moody chord progression on his acoustic guitar or rainy-day strains of cello creating an overcast atmosphere, McDonald is not afraid of not being celebratory, joyful and triumphant. Instead, sung in his trademark cracked tenor -- think Damien Rice meets David Gray meets Sufjan Stevens -- the music on Ripen is bittersweet and pensive.

And Christian. But neither preachy or devotional, but observant, appreciative, and emotionally bare. And more, one could argue, musical. Or at least more ranging in its musicality. There's even an instrumental, "Imago," a Flamenco guitar-meets-Wurlitzer song that serves no other master than the artist's muse.

The 15 tracks on Ripen were all written or co-written by the late-20-something singer/songwriter and together run an hour in length. They're orchestrated moodily with spare, plaintive acoustic guitar, programmed percussion, strings, keys, electric guitar, harmonica, banjo and gentle electronic effects. His music has an indie coffee house feel that's totally Seattle.

The response to Ripen was as immediate as it was overwhelming. It debuted as a Top 5 Christian album, where his previous studio effort, 2004's Simply Nothing, peaked at 26. The record was meant to be taken as a whole, rather than single driven. But the track getting the most attention at radio is "Free." The track is subdued yet undeniably peppy, even as somber cello brushes across it like strokes of blue paint. "Reason" is a potential follow-up single.

But really, all the songs are vastly deserving of attention. And as the sticker on the cover of the shrink wrap suggests, kick back with a fresh cup of coffee (on a rainy day!) and enjoy this whole album, start to finish.

By Todd Spencer