Are The Newboys Back?

Are the Newsboys back? A loaded question, to say the least. Some of us grew up with the Newsboys. Take Me To Your Leader (iTunes, Amazon) was one of the first CDs I bought. That was back when they were more of a rock band. They were fun, catchy, and put on a great show.

But around the turn of the century, they changed. Their music became less rock and more worship. Now there’s nothing wrong with worship music, I love it. But some people are great at worship, some people are great at rock, and when a band like the Newsboys transitioned, it was tough. Their shows were still good, but I increasingly found myself excited for the opening acts, and was totally cool with leaving when the Newsboys took the stage. I know I’m not alone, as many others have expressed the same sentiment.

Recently though, they made a change. The lone original member, lead singer, Peter Furler, stepped into a behind the scenes roll, and former DC Talk member, Michael Tait, stepped in as lead singer. I have been anxious to hear how this would impact them, and now we have a glimpse.

The song, Born Again, will be the title track on their new album set for release on June 8, 2010. The video was shot just outside of Tijuana, Mexico, where the Newboys will be taking people to help build homes in the Baja peninsula next summer.

But listen to that sound! It’s peppy, it’s fun, I want to dance to it. Most of all, it has me excited about the Newsboys once again. Tait’s distinctive voice sounds great, the drums are crisp, the bass pulls you in without being overbearing, and the guitar pulls everything together.

If this is a new direction that the Newboys are taking, back into rock and songs you want to jump around to, maybe open up the mosh pit, I’m all for it. Worship music isn’t going anywhere, there’s a ton of great artists leading the charge there, but rock with a Christian theme has taken a hit the last decade. There has been some great music, but the bands don’t seem to last more than a few years.

It seems the Newboys are reinventing themselves, which makes Born Again all the more fitting, for a number of reasons. Now, if I can just get Inpop to send me a few copies of the EP, one for myself, of course, several to give away to readers, and youth group kids in the area.

And I can’t remember the last time the Newsboys had a song that I listened to over and over and over again. It’s all I’ve listened to in the last hour.

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