Bethel Music worship leader Amanda Cook is well known for her passionate worship style and for having penned numerous songs that have spoken to many people in the Church including the popular praise anthem "You Make Me Brave." She recently released her debut solo album, Brave New World and the album quickly reached the top of Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart while landing at No. 20 on the overall Billboard Top 200 with more than 19,000 albums sold.
"The process of writing gave me permission to explore and to breathe in a way I didn’t know I needed," Amanda says. "I was given a gift- to find out what I actually believe about God, to ask big questions, wrestle with what I had been told are answers, and find peace within the mystery. These are my imaginations and confessions put to melodies and music. Brave New World represents a voyage of discovering that God has been on our side all along, that we can live a whole life, full of heart, with a capacity to process pain, wrestle with truth, and find ourselves steady at the end of our pilgrimage. There is an endless possibility for God to create a world within us, a world transformed through the bravery of perfect Love."
"Pieces" is a beautiful worship ballad that presents a picture of God's nature, exploring the fullness of His love for us. The music is soft and atmospheric, allowing the truth of the lyrics to shine. It builds as the song declairs the perfection of His love, "Your love’s not fractured. It’s not a troubled mind. It isn’t anxious, it’s not the restless kind. Your love’s not passive, it's never disengaged. It’s always present. It hangs on every word we say. Love keeps its promises, it keeps its word. It honors what’s sacred, cause its vows are good. Your love’s not broken, it’s not insecure. Your love’s not selfish, Your love is pure."
"Heroes" encourages believers to trust God in everything, worshipping Him in all circumstances, "Awake my soul to sing with Your breath in me. I will worship. You taught my feet to dance upon disappointment. And I, I will worship." Blending heartfelt vocals with a rich sound, it proclaims our full trust in God and praises, "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, You are making all things new." "City of Hope" tells of the way God has adopted us, healing our brokenness and claiming us as His own. Maintaining a quiet intensity throughout, it melodically expresses the hope we now have in Him, "Cause You are mending the brokenhearted. You are making all things new. You’re rebuilding out of the ruins a city of hope with the ones You love."
Amanda concludes, "My prayer through this record is that you would experience the reality that you, in fact, house a Brave New World; you are a Brave New World. May you be filled with hope in the One whose mercy is timeless, and whose Love for mankind is as boundless as the sea." Lyrical and heartfelt, Brave New World will resonate with worshippers everywhere. Download your copy today, now available on iTunes.
Brave New World - Amanda Cook
|