'My Coming Day' - Julian Drive

Julian Drive brings a lot to like to the table. There is just enough rock to satisfy those who like some edge to their music and it's blended beautifully with pop rock sensibilities that won't be denied. Eight out of ten songs hit the bulls-eye with me (not an easy thing to do) and any one of them could easily work on radio.

I see a great future for this band in the national scene as well as on my iPod!

We first heard of Julian Drive after they won the Exalting Him National Talent Search in 2004. They spent the next two years playing shows but not being sure if they were supposed to go full time with the music. In 2006, that all changed and it was all or nothing. Another year on the road went by before producer, Lynn Nichols (Phil Keaggy, Switchfoot), heard the band and brought them into the studio. Once Inpop Records president Dale Bray heard the project, he signed them, and the next step in the journey officially began.

I'm from Georgia, and I love southern rock (Third Day and DecembeRadio being two of my favorite bands), so I was really pumped about Julian Drive's debut release because they're home-grown Georgia boys and they were billed as "southern rock."

It was with that mind-set that I first listened to My Coming Day and it's because of that whole preconceived notion thing that I was disappointed. This was more pop/rock than southern rock; more MercyMe than Third Day ... Wait a minute!

Needless to say, I had to change gears. I had to erase the idea that I already had in my head and start from scratch. I put the CD on hold for a little over a week and then came back in "clean" and I'm so glad that I did. These guys hit the mark on so many levels.

Musically, they're as tight as you can get without snapping. You can really tell that they've done countless live shows. Lyrically, they may not have enough JPM's (Jesus's per minute) to suit some, but if you really listen to the words, you get a pretty clear picture that it's Christ that they're singing about. Production is top notch, giving me a whole new respect for Lynn Nichols.

This is the whole package and I expect that this young band will just get better and better with age.

Highlights

• "From Your Hands"
• "Always There"
• "Cry"
• "In You"
• "One Step Away"
• "Unplug"
• "The Reason"
• "My Coming Day"