Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

JFH Music Review


Nichole Nordeman, The Unmaking - EP
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Nichole Nordeman
The Unmaking - EP



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Pop
Album length: 6 tracks: 23 minutes, 17 seconds
Street Date: August 28, 2015


READER RATING:   


Oh, Nichole Nordeman, how we have missed thee. Brave was released a decade ago. Yes, there was the collaborative project The Story in 2011, and it was excellent, but that voice, that piano, and most of all those lyrics are bright spots in Christian music, and their absence has been palpable. And so, finally, The Unmaking has arrived, a 6-song EP of new studio music. The first notes of the first song remind any listener who might have forgotten that Nordeman is a treasure.

Released with relatively little fanfare, there are curiosities about The Unmaking. Why an EP? The format has tended toward interstitial releases between big projects, and the timing here doesn't quite qualify. Perhaps it's another indication of the slow death of the full-length. If we pretend for a moment, though, that this was a vinyl LP, it would be a story of two sides, with three songs each.

Side one is the title track, "Not to Us" (a vocal duet with Plumb), and "Name," each one a fine song. "The Unmaking" highlights Nordeman's ability to take a familiar concept, in this case, the need to lose oneself to find God, and illustrate it with vivid metaphor and personal connection. The opening verse is really quite wonderful, which makes it more of a disappointment when, one minute in, the production switches gears to fairly routine CCM pop mode.

"Not to Us" invokes Psalm 115:1 and hints at the sentiment of "Tremble" to once again turn our gaze away from self and to the Almighty. The singing tradeoff is interesting; Nordeman and Plumb are not too dissimilar vocally, but they pair remarkably well. Rounding out our artificial side one is "Name," an effective "don't get down on yourself" song, once again ironically dulled by a too-bright pop sheen. The second verse in particular is a perfect message for many who struggle with assurance of salvation; don't miss it through the gloss.

It's on the flip side where the EP becomes a full realization of Nordeman's profound talents. "Love You More" opens to strings that at first feel a bit overwrought until the tender vocal speaks line after line of biblical stories of failure. In the first verse alone, the listener is deftly led through ten remarkable summaries of emotional collapse, disappointment, and sin. A prechorus makes the song personal, and the plaintive vocal of the chorus declares this powerful prayer: "I love You. I'm trying to love You more." This is Nordeman at her best.

Next, "Something Out of Me" jars the listener a bit with honky-tonk piano and a tantalizing first line: "Just you and me on a hillside / And four thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine." The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is told from the perspective of a random person in the crowd marveling that the same Jesus who can turn a paltry bit of food into a bounty can make "something out of me." Here's a fun line, recalling the container of the loaves and fish: "I see impossible but / You see a basket full of / A little bit of 'This sounds crazy!' / A little bit of 'Just maybe…'."

Nordeman saves the most emotional track on the EP until the end with "Slow Down," a parent-child song co-written with Christopher Stevens. It's a sweet journey from infanthood to the point when "you were trying to free your fingers from my hand." The song is particularly poignant in our overscheduled and distracted society, and though it's sentimental, it is never maudlin.

Throughout the EP, Nordeman's vocals are artful, switching effortlessly between registers and conveying honest emotion. If there's fault with this collection, it's that one wishes it was a full-length album, and that the pop production at times diminishes the lyrical depth and insight and the evocative vocals. When the songs feel more organic is when they are most effective.

These are minor quibbles. Nordeman remains head and shoulders above much of her genre, and it's a delight to see new music from her. Here's to the hope that the EP is indicative of a steady stream of thoughtful, well-crafted songs that make us think, touch our emotions, and enrich our relationship with God.

- Review date: 8/28/15, written by Mark D. Geil of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

 

. Record Label: Capitol CMG
. Album length: 6 tracks: 23 minutes, 17 seconds
. Street Date: August 28, 2015
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. The Unmaking (3:47)
  2. Not To Us (feat. Plumb) (4:39)
  3. Name (3:02)
  4. Love You More (4:21)
  5. Something Out Of Me (3:30)
  6. Slow Down (3:59)
spacer     Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics

 

 

 

 



Leave a Comment

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 

 

                 
Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

Search JFH



This Friday, July 25, 2025
ALBUMS
Anchor & Braille New Mexico [Equal Vision]
B. Tee Told You [Syntax]
Bride Scarecrow Messiah CD Re-Release [Girder]
Homesick Prodigals Different Good (independent)
KDNS After Eden [Syntax]
Olivia Lane Songs About Jesus (Deluxe Edition) [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard TASHA [Motown Gospel]
Kevi Morse Kingston We Winning [Syntax]
Pulpit Vomit Hospital Lens [Rottweiler]
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno Dance for Jesus - EP (independent)
Taylor & Co Worship Breakthrough - EP (independent)
Josh Wright LEAD (independent)

SINGLES
abenezer i was lost - Single [Gotee]
Sho Baraka Still Got Faith (ft. L3xdivine) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion Easy To Please - Single [BEC]
Katty Camargo Shine Upon Me - Single (independent)
The CCC Collective Thankful - Single (independent)
C4 Crotona Mr. Gritty - Single [Syntax]
EJ Swavv & Nickwit2Ks Growth - Single [Syntax]
Forrest Frank GOD'S GOT MY BACK - Single [River House / 10K]
Andrew Gonoude Closer To You - Single (independent)
Noah Paul Harrison Oh Lord My God (Live) - Single [Bethel]
J.Solo All I Have (ft. Kaboose & MotionPlus) - Single [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope + Kings Kaleidoscope Hymns Amazing Grace - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Life In Me - Single [BEC]
Lecrae Bless You (feat. Torey D'Shaun) - Single [Reach]
TobyMac God Did It (feat. Jamie MacDonald) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Hunter Plake Down to Earth - Single [BEC]
QEW JOYXFIX (ft. Stevie Rizo) - Single [Syntax]
Naomi Raine God Will Work It Out - Single [Tribl]
Saints in Exile Bad Vibes - Single [Syntax]
Xander Sallows infinite - Single [DREAM]
Silent Reflection Left Me for Dead - Single [Syntax]
John Stratton The Body and the Blood - Single [Pure Mosaic Services]
Regina Vandereijk You're the Light - Single (independent)
Joel Vaughn Feel It - Single [DREAM]
Zach Williams Killed A Man - Single [Provident]
Zauntee Jesus Down In Florida - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Bride Scarecrow Messiah Vinyl [Girder]

DVD
Jordan Smith The People's Hymnal DVD [Gaither]

This Saturday, July 26, 2025
SINGLES
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno What Would You Do? - Single (independent)

Next Friday, August 1, 2025
ALBUMS
Crash Rickshaw Big Sir - EP [Velvet Blue]
McKamey Legacy Holding to Truth [Horizon]
Ordained Thunder Roar [Girder]
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM Worship]

SINGLES
Dan Bremnes Human - Single [Curb]
Lauren Daigle Let It Be A Hallelujah - Single [Centricity]
Sleeping At Last Believe - Single (independent)

VINYL
Disciple Attack! (Limited Run Vinyl) Vinyl [Girder]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Get all of JFH's indie compilation now totally free!
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images