JENNY AND TYLER-Faint Not

Jenny and Tyler are a church-going husband-and-wife team who are getting major play at my house. Yes, my house. And coverage on my site. The same house, and website, that thinks violent fart jokes are hilarious and that features foul rap and mind-numbing hardcore. So what the hell are such a wholesome couple doing here? Simple. “Faint Not” is one of the best pop-duo records I’ve heard in years.

How so?

Well, it all starts with the vocals. The focus here is on the sung words, and Tyler and Jenny Somers voices are perfect together–his lower register compliments her ability to hit and maintain the high notes, his slightly worn, slightly painful inflection is mirrored by the hope and love that Jenny naturally, seemingly effortlessly, puts into every syllable. Then there’s the music: It’s pop and hooks, but it’s not simplistic. When necessary, it soars. When appropriate, it lays back, content to support the singers. Lyrically, it’s sensitive and introspective–songs about being human. “Carry Me” could be about faith, but it could just as easily be a straight-up love song. That’s how I hear it, anyway, and it almost breaks me. It’s anthemic, it’s powerful, and it cries to be heard.

There’s nothing overtly religious about this (other than “Psalm 46”) or preachy, nothing that screams of intolerance or preachiness, just honest, beautiful music. If all Christian music was like this, the genre would be surely less maligned.