It’s been a busy year for Anthem Edition, the quartet once known as The Old Paths. Since the release of last year’s Here Comes Christmas, they’ve acquired a new tenor singer in Cameron Edens and released three acclaimed singles — “Graveyard,” the first, is just now climbing the Southern Gospel charts — while bringing their musical ministry to enthusiastic audiences with a busy touring schedule. Now those singles, together with another four songs of faith, have been gathered up in a new collection for Sonlite Records: Promises Kept.
The album is now available for pre-save/add ahead of its January 10 release.
“This album is special to us,” says founding member and lead singer Tim Rackley. “It marks the first time we’re making music together as a team with Cameron Edens and Andrew Utech, alongside our longtime brother, Doug Roark. These songs are a testament to God’s unwavering faithfulness, and we can’t wait for you to experience the message of hope and promise we’ve poured our hearts into.”
The energy of Promises Kept is evident right from the start as spirited drums kick off the opening track, “Every Promise Made Is a Promise Kept,” an up-tempo, country-flavored entry from songwriters Kenna Turner West and Jason Cox that delivers the project’s central theme in a rousing, all-quartet format:
There’s never been a time that He’s not faithful
Never been a day His words aren’t true
Never been a moment that our God won’t
Do just what He said He’d do
He’s never ever failed to keep one yet
Every promise made is a promise kept
And indeed, while the tender meditation on God’s mercy, “I Am Loved,” and second single, “Still Under His Feet,” offer expansive arrangements and contemplative tempos, the emphasis is on lively songs that capture the urgency and transformative power of Christian faith. And while country textures predominate in the instrumentation, there’s room for a variety of musical flavors, from the horns that punctuate “Graveyard” to the touches of harmonica that enliven the Utech-led closer, “They Need To See.” The result is a compact, pithy set that carries the quartet’s acclaimed sound into a new era, offering old fans a comfortably familiar sound while beckoning new ones into the fold with, in “They Need To See”’s memorable phrase, “a testimony that weathers any storm.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed producing this new EP for Anthem Edition,” says acclaimed producer Roger Talley. “They approached this project with a renewed passion and more energy than they have ever had before. We found some great new songs to express their commitment to singing the Gospel with a new excitement that I can’t wait for you to hear. A unique feature of this project is the number of uptempo songs they have chosen. For anyone who has ever complained about too many slow songs, this project is for you!”