Louder Than The Music

Dove Award-nominated Irish worshippers Rend Collective have released their fourth album, 'The Art of Celebration' this week.

The album includes lead single and video (see below) 'My Lighthouse', which carries forward the choice to celebrate God's brightness in the midst of "troubled seas".

"We would far rather be defined by joy, fun, freedom and laughter than any genre title or pop-culture label," says band leader Gareth Gilkeson. "The biggest clue as to what The Art of Celebration sounds like is in the title. We tried to make it sound like fun. It's what the Psalmist calls, 'a joyful noise.'"

"Our process was to just pick out the instruments that seemed like fun to us and let the genre definition work itself out," says Rend Collective member Chris Llewellyn. "We use an arsenal of the weird, wonderful, whimsical music toys, our native Irish folk instruments, some good old-fashioned rock' n' roll guitars, and even some synth-pop inspired elements. And it goes without saying that Gareth once again wields that awesome, homemade weapon of mass celebration we know only as 'the Jingling Johnny.'"

The raw, rootsy, foot-stomping energy of the Irish worshippers, which has been infectious among audiences across the globe, has always been about people and building God's Kingdom here. Beginning as a group of friends collectively wondering how to make sense of the conundrum of life, God and community, Rend Collective is a nod to the places in Scripture where it says to "rend your hearts" and not your garments, a bold call to be genuine.