Since his debut EP nearly a decade ago, Tauren Wells has established himself as one of the more notable figures in Christian music, highlighted by worshipful songs, like "Known," as well as groovy ones that make the listener want to dance, like "Fake It." Perhaps influenced by planting a church a few years ago and actively pastoring that congregation, this latest release from Wells, Breathe On It, sees him taking a turn from the feel of his past few albums and leaning into a particularly worship heavy style.

Despite a slight change from his typical output, these songs do not come across as overly experimental; instead, these offerings from Wells feel unusually safe. Many of them tend to blur together. As standalone songs, no track presents itself as especially weak, but combined together, they fail to add up to a strong album. Enjoyable on their own, but not as much within the context of the album, offerings like "Bless Your Name" and "Thank You For The Cross" embody these characteristics. The mammoth runtime does not aid the homogeneity, either, as Breathe On It is more than double the length of his previous album, Joy in the Morning.

The most confusing addition to this album comes in the form of "Joy in the Morning" with Elevation Worship, a song that Wells already released on the Joy in the Morning (Horizon Edition). While this version has done well for him the past few years, the nearly nine minutes do not add anything new to this already bloated album, and would have been best left off this new release. Having three of the final five tracks run over five minutes makes the record drag as well. "Not Guilty," which starts this final run, perfectly exemplifies a song that works quite well for its first half, but could have ended a little before the three-and-a-half-minute mark instead of going for another two-and-a-half minutes. That being said, this reviewer's personal favorite track, sans collaborations, is the closer, "Let The Church Sing." Wells ends on an upbeat note and shares a joyful lyric that encourages the listener to sing along, "No one like our God / Only one we need / Holy is our Lord / Hallelujah let the church sing." "Let The Church Sing" demonstrates that genre does not limit the types of worship songs he can sing. More tracks like this would have been welcome on Breathe On It.

The collaborations, however, bring some opportunities to introduce greater variety. "Sunday Morning," with Pastor Mike Jr., does this the best of any selection on the record. The tune encourages the listener to bop their head along and celebrate the joy of a Sunday morning. "How Great," featuring the gifted artists Phil Wickham and Hulvey, praises God for His greatness and power and allows both Wickham and Hulvey to bring their strengths to the track. ECCOS and Samu Robles join in for "Cantermeos," a song sung entirely in Spanish, and another one of the album's biggest standouts. While more guests may not have been the answer, more adventurous tracks would have elevated the quality of this release as a whole.

Ultimately, Tauren Wells has made a worship album that largely lacks sonic variety, but offers select songs for listeners to enjoy outside of the context of the full project. As previously mentioned, the songs themselves are not bad, but fans will want to find their favorites and add them to playlists rather than attempting to consume this giant record at once. Some listeners who gravitate towards his songs, like "Famous For" and "Joy in the Morning," may walk away more pleased, but this reviewer will return to the talented singer's previous efforts more frequently than this one.

- Review date: 4/28/26, written by Noah Schmidt of Jesusfreakhideout.com