Description
Playing Games with the Shadow is an album by the American singer and songwriter Kevin Max of dc Talk fame, released on Blind Thief Recordings in June 2016.
Kevin Max has Christian rock bona fides. As one-third of DC Talk, Max lived through the stricter, more ridiculous ‘80s and ‘90s in the Christian music industry. But Max was always the more artistically driven of the group, and his solo career has been a strange wonder to behold. His voice was always the most interesting of the three, channeling Simon le Bon and other ‘80s new romantics, and over eight surprising records, he’s carved out a fascinating little niche. His latest, Playing Games with the Shadow, dives full bore into Duran Duran territory, and fully explores his ambitions.
And I never would have expected it, but Max has entered that rarified group of artists who grew out of the CCM industry and have transcended it. Much of this record is abstract, preferring to leave snatches of lyric open to interpretation. Plenty of it could be called spiritual, but you have to dig for it and puzzle it out. Max has allied himself here with musicians like John Mark Painter (Fleming and John, Steve Taylor‘s band), Steve Hindalong (The Choir) and Lynn Nichols (Chagall Guevara), and while it’s possible he draws inspiration from them, this is the most Kevin Max album yet – he wrote every song and played many of the electronic instruments.
And songs like «Girl with the Tiger Eyes» and «Election» are the best he’s given us. «Election», especially, is a winner – it stomps along confidently, spinning its tale of insiders and outsiders. “I’d rather hide out in bars with the misfits and ghouls than pretend I’ve found a home in that social club with robotic and judgmental fools,” Max sings, putting quite a fine point on it. He writes a song for William Blake that rivals the one Terry Taylor wrote in 1985, digging into the poet’s tendency to see visions. «Muzick is Magic» sounds like Franz Ferdinand, Hindalong kicking up a storm on drums.
«Panic Button» is the only nod to his Jesus-rock past, with its chorus of “push the panic button, let go and let God in.” But even that is a delightful disco romp, one of the best melodically, and miles away from what you’d find on CCM radio. I have a strange soft spot for this corner of the music world, and for its survivors. I’m gratified that Kevin Max is one of them, and that he’s free to follow his vision. Playing Games with the Shadow is a genuine surprise, a full-blooded, totally weird album from a guy I hope keeps making them. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., 8/16/2016]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/playing-games-with-the-shadow/1579740439)
CD tracklist:
01. Phantoms of Terra – 7:00
02. Girl With the Tiger Eyes – 5:25
03. Election – 4:53
04. William Blake – 5:39
05. Circus the Night (Human Zoo) – 4:00
06. Panic Button – 3:59
07. Muzick Is Magic! – 4:11
08. Skin of Our Teeth – 3:07
“The Girl With The Tiger Eyes” (MUSIC VIDEO)
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