Lauren Daigle’s “How Can It Be” is a Rare Gem – Album Review

Lauren Daigle — the fast-rising new artist from Centricity Music — releases her debut album for Centricity, “How Can It Be,” on April 14, 2015. You might have heard her popular single played on the Christian radio (I know my radio station plays it every couple hours!), also titled “How Can It Be.”

Lauren is from the Deep South, and her southern belle soulfulness — which is filled with that powerful neo-Motown vocal style that Adele brought into the mainstream — combines “heart-in-throat vulnerability” with the “passionate fire to serve God,” as her bio says.

I absolutely agree.

And I’m going to cut right to the chase: I love this album.

From the beginning notes of “First” to the final chord of “Once And For All,” I was transfixed by two things: the songs and Jesus. The music sweeps you up, and then places your focus squarely where it belongs: on the King of Kings. And it’s very rare that I can listen to an album and say to myself that I honestly loved every song, and this is one of those rare finds.

This album is fresh and full of life, and it doesn’t skimp on the theology. Can we be honest about some Christian music on the radio? It’s not all great (or very in-depth) theology at times.

Overarching themes include trials, faith, worship, and seeking God’s face before seeking His hand: “Before I bring my needs, / I’ll bring my heart,” as “First” says.

If you know of someone going through a rough season of life, then BUY THAT PERSON THIS ALBUM. Sorry for shouting, but I feel strongly about this. I was recently in a funk, for no reason really, and this album lifted me right out of it. It connected on a deep level.

Part of the reason is just the great production, strong vocals, impressive songwriting; but really it was because the album moves you to put your focus back on God. We can get ourselves in this little spiral of just thinking about ourselves and our problems, and the real answer is to lift our eyes to Him, worshiping and praising Him throughout all the seasons of life based on the simple fact that He is worthy of praise.

As the track titled “Trust in You” states: “If you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move…I will trust in You.” With raw, genuine emotion, the album takes you on an incredible journey into the Presence of God.

And when I listened to her songs, I finished singing most of the tracks with her. My heart resonated with the lyrics so deeply that I just had to lift my voice with her — on my first listen — even though I was alone.

This speaks volumes about how singable and melodic these songs actually are. Even the slow songs, with sparse instrumentation and quiet rhythms, have this great energy about them.

If you have a kid who is still stuck on the “Frozen” song “Let It Go,” introduce them to track 12, “Once And For All,” on Lauren Daigle’s new album. The song gives a much better idea: we can lay our burdens down at the feet of Jesus and let our own “kingdoms” fall.

It might still be the first quarter of 2015, but I’m calling it: this strong debut from Lauren Daigle is my album of the year.

You can stream a few tracks from her new album and find links to purchase it here.