CHANGETHEWXRLD, a solo project of Lawrence Freeman, has become one of those projects I keep coming back to, even though I'm not entirely sure when this style of music became one of my guilty pleasures. As a metalhead, there is just something about this blend of indie, shoegaze, alternative rock, and heavier atmospheric stuff that works for me. And on diary of peripheral wounds, CHANGETHEWXRLD continues to hit that sweet spot.

To me, the band seems to be at its best somewhere on "the tether between ecstasis" and "miguided." There's a dreamy quality to the music, but it never feels completely peaceful. The guitars can be beautiful and washed out one minute and surprisingly heavy the next. There's almost a Deftones-lite quality to it, which I genuinely mean as a compliment. You get some of that same hazy, emotional heaviness without the music simply becoming wrapped up in sensual Deftones imitation.

And honestly, I dig it. But what keeps CHANGETHEWXRLD from simply being another cool-sounding shoegaze project is the message behind it. There is some real theological conviction in these songs. More importantly, it feels connected to actual life rather than theology for theology's sake. The Christian faith presented here isn't always clean and polished. There's struggle, doubt, pain, temptation, repentance, hope, and the constant realization that we need God a whole lot more than we sometimes want to admit.

Sometimes Christian music, especially the K-LOVE variety, can rush toward the answer. Something hurts, God is good, everything is okay. But most of us know that isn't exactly how following Christ works. Sometimes you know God is faithful while still living with the mental illness or that health struggle. Sometimes you believe the right things while struggling to live as you believe them. Sometimes faith looks less like standing triumphantly on a mountaintop and more like asking God for enough grace to get through another Monday.

One thing I don't want to overlook is the actual musicianship and production, because it would be easy to get so focused on the message that I fail to mention that this is simply a good-sounding record. Freeman seems to understand that this kind of music lives and dies by atmosphere. The guitars don't need to constantly show off. Instead, they build layers, disappear into the background, get heavy, pull back, and leave room for the vocals before washing over everything again. A lot is happening, but it rarely feels like something is there just because he could put it there. That restraint is musicianship, too.

The production follows the same philosophy. There's a nice balance between clarity and that slightly blurred shoegaze quality I want from this style. The record can sound huge without becoming exhausting. Freeman's vocals feel like part of the atmosphere, but they aren't swallowed by it, which is especially important considering how much weight the lyrics carry.

This is probably where my Deftones-lite description makes the most sense. It's not necessarily that the songs sound exactly like Deftones. It's the combination of heaviness, vulnerability, melody, and atmosphere that scratches some of that same itch for me. CHANGETHEWXRLD takes that basic musical language and runs it through indie shoegaze and an explicitly Christian worldview.

diary of peripheral wounds feels comfortable living in those moments. Even the title fits that idea. Not every wound in life is some massive tragedy. Sometimes it is the smaller stuff around the edges: disappointment. Loneliness. Frustration with yourself. Old sins. Broken relationships. Anxiety about where your life is going. Those things add up, and I appreciate Christian music that is willing to acknowledge them without pretending that having faith makes them magically disappear.

- Review date: 10/8/26, written by Matt Baldwin of Jesusfreakhideout.com

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Record Label: Redemption Records
Album length: 9 tracks: 34 minutes, 8 seconds
Street Date: May 29, 2026
Buy It: Amazon Music

1. the tether of ecstasis (3:43)
2. i'm sorry (5:17)
3. misguided* (3:31)
4. or i'll wither away (3:32)
5. ~reality (3:10)
6. 13:5 (promise) (3:57)
7. beatitude (3:33)
8. late have i loved (5:11)
9. oceans (2:14)