EP REVIEW: "Missing Link" by Nick Murphy

Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker) is typically introspective and moody on this new EP Missing Link, and while it doesn't necessarily strike new ground there are five solid songs that won't necessarily stay in you're head long after. To me it kind of sounds like a collection of songs that would normally be the deeper cuts of a full length; there aren't any real standouts or "lead singles" but rather subdued, sometimes hypnotic songs without any real cutting power. People who aren't fans of the way Murphy's voice can sometimes flatten out will find further dissatisfaction on Missing Link, too, where the whinier side of his performance takes the foreground. It's not bad, just not overly memorable.

Rating: C-

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A Response To 'Christian' Views On Secular Music

Is there such thing as music that Christians shouldn’t listen to? Should we be dismissive of music with either explicit language or sexual, violent or substance oriented themes? Should anyone even be telling anyone else what they can and can’t listen to? These are questions that are thrown around a lot in Christian circles, and given what I do here on this blog and how that overlaps with my job working for the church, I thought I would share my thoughts on this topic. I’ll say this at the outset so that we’re on the same page – I think any attempt to dictate what people should and shouldn’t listen to is stupid and disrespectful on a fundamental level. I’ll go into detail about why I think that later on, but for now here are some thoughts I have on some of the “Christian” opinions I come across pretty regularly. The first and most ludicrous thing that seems to follow me around is the idea that because I listen to underground genres, particularly on the heavy metal ...

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