Opting for a negative attitude is the easiest choice you’re going to have to make, right up there with giving up. It’s no excuse that the vast majority of people with whom you interact are dying to tell you about how bad the world is, nor the fact that the vast majority of modern music centres around angst, anger, and strife.
And, sure, music that tackles negative emotion has its purpose. If crafted correctly, it can help heal, or at least lead some of the people who feel those emotions through difficult times. But does there have to be so much of it? And, if everyone is stuck singing the blues or yelling about distrusting the world, who’s left to create the songs about hope for a better day?
Chi the Artist makes a conscious choice of siding with the light over darkness on the album “The Wonderful Life of Brother Goodlove.” Essentially a collection of songs strongly inspired by devotional music, “The Wonderful Life of Brother Goodlove” is a record for everyone who feels like they need some breathing room from bad news, a pause from the constant programming about everything being terrible.
That sounds like a tall order. How does the songwriter and performer actually achieve this? For the most part, Chi the Artist tries to focus on the good things he feels, for sure, to be true. The songs are, essentially, meditations on the idea of good standing as a force ready to repel evil.
On the opening track, over resonant keyboard chords, soulful guitar lines, and perfectly pitched backing vocals, Chi the Artist sings about a force meant to guide you to safety whenever you’ve lost your way.
On the song “Leave a Light On,” the soulful vocals issue an apology to those whose arms are waiting to hold you after a tiring day of work. Of note is the retro soul production that comes complete with faultless performances.
In fact, its musical association with old-school soul music is the album’s calling card. Take a listen to the dramatic “How Long.” Chi the Artist has the ability with the music to conjure up both images of tense battles, but also of relief, and present it all with excellent technique.
Throughout the song collection, the lead vocals are a real highlight, while the supporting cast delivers inspired performances that make the record sound and feel as if it were plucked right out of late 1960s soul music.
Where does this leave us? Sure, at its heart, “The Wonderful Life of Brother Goodlove” is a collection of modern spirituals, an album of devotional songs. However, it is also an excellently performed set of soul songs that feel like a warm embrace, that make you feel that there’s a point to fighting against the lure of darkness.
