Vincent Colbert’s Unwind, Free for CaPC Members

[su_note note_color=”#d5d5d5″ text_color=”#91201f”]Vincent Colbert’s Unwind is graciously available free to Christ and Pop Culture members through our partnership with the artist.[/su_note]

Vincent Colbert is a Denver-based singer-songwriter with a silky voice and a knack for sad songs. His new record, Unwind, is an emotionally honest, spiritually conscious, look at the fickle human experience.

Pleasant fingerpicking and quiet, contemplative production accompany Colbert’s collection of sad songs–giving the whole record a sort of Elliott Smith-esque duality (without all of the existential despair). So while Unwind might sound great at your local coffee shop, there’s more here than just ambience. And it’s that duality that makes the record most interesting upon close listening, especially when you’re feeling kind of sad.

Songs like “Landslide” and “Kick Off Those Shoes” have a combination of lyrical texture and pleasant instrumentation that is reminiscent of another great alt-Christian album that works through the gritty realities of human existence with soothing vocals and painful lyrics: “Somewhere You Belong” by The Normals. “Porcelain Vase” rings more straightforward worship-in-the-midst-of-weakness reminiscent of early Derek Webb. Then, you have the pictures of mental weakness, doubt, and emotional pain like “Wine Stains” that add a level of emotional honesty that would make Christian radio uncomfortable, which is arguably much needed in Christian art.

It’s a rare Christian album that can balance outright worship:

I will be yours forever

No matter the mess that I have made  

You’re cleaning up for me everyday  

I will be yours eternal   

Your love will cover my old ways  

Cleaning up for me everyday

With honest, exposed lament:

Lying on the kitchen floor

I’m half awake, reeling from too much drink

Is everything lost now, has hope run out for good?

Is it too late?

Oh God, I hope it’s not too late

While the soft delivery and smooth production remains consistent, the narrative toggles between failure and forgiveness, worship and lament. The stories in the songs call out to one another, building on the others to inform their substance. “Another Man’s Wife” grapples with human desire:

Too many voices, a Saturday night

Sitting at the bar getting drunk on wine

Feeling I could fall for another man’s wife

I don’t understand my own wicked eyes

And this is followed by “Landslide”, a desperate lament––a plea to God to give grace to a bruised reed and a reminder (probably to both himself and to God) that he has promised to do just that:

I will be yours forever

No matter the mess that I have made  

You’re cleaning up for me everyday  

I will be yours eternal   

Your love will cover my old ways  

Cleaning up for me everyday

Outside of the actual substance of the album itself, what stands out most on Unwind is its overarching, unapologetic commitment to be both sad and Christian, not giving into the false dichotomy that explicitly Christian music can’t talk about lying drunk on the floor and sing psalmic praises in the same breath. It’s this willingness to embrace the seemingly (although not actually) contradiction that makes this record so worthwhile, whether or not you dig the clean coffee shop style.

At Christ and Pop Culture, we are proud to partner with artists like Vincent Colbert that refuse to put a façade over their faith and art.  And this month, CAPC members can download this record for free. So if you’re not already a member, now’s a great time to join (and then go sit in a college town coffee shop with a Chai latte, listen to Unwind, and work through your emotions).

To receive a free copy of Vincent Colbert’s Unwind, consider becoming a member of Christ and Pop Culture for as little as $5 per month. You’ll get free stuff each month, full access to CAPC Magazine (including all back issues), entrance to our exclusive members group on Facebook—and you’ll help us keep the lights on. Join now.