DecembeRadio

By Beau Black for GospelMusicChannel.com

“Classic rock” band DecembeRadio sounds a little less classic, a little less rock on their second album, Satisfied. Perhaps shooting for a broader audience this outing, the band tries out a little bit of everything (from ‘80s metal to country-pop). As with their breakout hit “Drifter,” its most successful songs are rooted in softer ground.
 
Boundary-busting success typically requires being all things to all people – rockin’ enough for the kiddies, soft enough that Mom won’t change the station on her way to Target. Two of Christian music’s most successful bands (MercyMe and Casting Crowns) split this difference, and that seems to be DecembeRadio’s aim here as well.
 
The band fires up the disc with “Better Man,” a grinding burst of hair metal (a genre not exactly begging for a revival, by the way). The title track’s noodley guitarwork is a more natural fit, though this song, like others, delivers a message listeners have likely heard a time or six before. The rock swagger there, and on “Believer” and “Gasoline” is winning, but a healthy dose of lyrical depth would complete the package.
 
“For Your Glory” gets the closest to that, though on it, DecembeRadio, could still be mistaken for a dozen other acts. On it, Josh Reedy sings, “what I bring...don’t add up, but somehow it’s enough to lift You up and let the world see that it’s You.” It’s a song that still rings when the disc is over. Satisfied’s other killer track “Look For Me,” this project’s “Drifter,” is country rock with a symphonic flourish, a la Rascal Flatts. Odd mix, but it works.
 
So, this is an enjoyable record, owing more to Bon Jovi than to Led Zepplin. As much as is made of the band's classic roots, they're getting tougher to spot with Satisfied.

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