Customer Reviews

Light of Things Hoped for

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Two years ago some of my friends got me hooked on Five Iron Frenzy, a band that has some of the most insightful and intelligent lyrics that I have ever heard. A year ago, one of those friends was talking about BraveSaintSaturn and put on this CD, even just casually listening you can tell that this is a step above Five Iron.

When I bought this I just casually listened to it for awhile, slowly the lyrics begin to work on you and you hear how heartfelt and intelligent these really are. The two songs that really catch my attention are "Heart Still Beats" and "Daylight," the first of those follows many of Five Iron's songs about indians, even the lowliest (many times the people we treat as low aren't as low as we see them) person is still a human. "Daylight" is hope, in short, I'm not going ot get into some of it's more deep themes.

After I bought this, I bought BraveSaint's first Album, "So Far From Home," which is no where near as polished as this album is, or any of the Five Iron albums that preceded it. But many of the themes of "The Light of Things Hoped For" are carried from this album.

Last, I feel that one of the strongest elements of any album is how the album flows together. This entire album is a story, told through different styles of music that compliment each other well.

This is THE best album that I have heard in any genre, especially the Christian market. But the album has "undersold," or so I'm told, and is rather obsure and this comes from the fact that the band does not tour, don't let that discourage you, buy this album, you won't be disappointed.

Brave Saint Saturn has put out another great CD. It is less acoustic as the previous one, yet it's not hard at all. The lyrics are emotional, and the music is flowing. It has to be one of the best CD's that I have bought in a LONG time. I can honestly say that I don't press skip on any song. They are all Grade A.

I can honestly say,that since i purchased this CD last week,i have not been able to listen to anything else. It's beautiful,breathtaking, and every other adjective for simply wonderful.

1. Prologue- the album starts out with a narration...interesting,but I usually skip it because the next track is AWESOME.

2.The Sun Also Rises- I love this song! It's a great way to start and album off,as it's upbeat, catchy, and fun to listen to. 5 stars!

3. Binary- This is one of my favorite songs on the album. I love the way Reese sings this song,and the words match the music beautifully. 5 stars.

4.Mercury- Another narration....It's interesting,but I usually skip this also.

5. Enamel- This is one angry song.... It's like Binary fused with anger and hate to produce this song. It's still good, and I enjoy it. Listen for the ''record scratch'' that replaces a certain word at the end of the first verse.Musically this is a great song,but I don't really care for most of the lyrics. Bitterness isn't an attractive quality. However,it still gets 5 stars.

6. Anastasia- This is a really pretty song that starts acoustic and gradually gets a little harder. I really like to listen to this song;it's really sweet,not like sweet meaning ''cool!'' but sweet meaning ''aww...how nice". 5 stars.

7.Titan- When i first listened to this song, I didn't like it. but being the open-minded individual that I am,i gave it another chance,and now I like it. It's rather hard for a BS2 song,but it's still awesome. 5 stars.

8.Gemini- More narration. Not that the narrartions are bad,it's just I want to hear the MUSIC!

9. Estrella- Definitly one of my favorites on the album. This song is so beautiful and touching....and I never thought I would use those words to descibe any song,but there aren't any others that are adequate. 5 stars.

10.Heart Still Beats- One of two songs that Dennis wrote and sings, this is a great song. It starts with some interesting vocals,but the end of the song is what gets me. Listen for more ''record scratches'' in the second verse of this song. 5 stars.

11. Babies Breath- I don't really know how to describe this song. It's soft and acoustic,almost like a lullaby. Personally,i like it a lot. =D 5 stars!

12. I Fell Away- It took me awhile to like this song too,but after more than 1 listen I really like it. 5 stars.

13.Recall- I love this song! It always gets stuck in my head, which is a good thing,because i'd rather be humming this than Sk8er Boi(EW!) any day! this is the second song Dennis wrote and sings. 5 stars!

14. Atropos- this is..interesting,to say the least. It's another narration. I usually skip this just so i can hear the last song sooner.

15. Daylight- This song is the crowning acievement of Brave Saint Saturn. I have never heard any other song that is so filled with emotion. The beauty of it could pierce your heart. THe incredibly outro is what does it for me. It's hard to listen to this song without crying. it's a wonderful way to end and album. 1 million stars.

So,in closing, if you don't own this album, GO GET IT NOW! Trust me,your CD case will be forever incomplete unless you own this!
I look forward to another release from this side projec of several FIF members. This is truly the light of things hoped for.

This CD far surpasses their last album in that it is so much more diverse in their musical style. The sound quality has also greatly improved. Their deep, stroy-like lyrics make you think while the eletrical rythums bump it up. Some songs are a bit lacking musically during the verses, but every song has outstanding choruses. "The Sun Also Rises," "Heart Still Beats," and "Daylight" are reason enough to perchuse this CD. The first time I listened to it I thought it repetitive and boring. The second, a couple songs stuck to me. Then the third time I was stuck to it. Take the Jornrney with the USS Gloria and discover hope, and that the sun always rises...

Astounding. Simply astounding. This album hits all the targets set by their last album and then some. Emotion, power, and awesome sound on most tracks gives this staying power. This should actually be a 4.5 stars, on account of it seeming weak when the songs are all taken out of the album and placed individually. It is strange, however, that as a whole they combine to create one of the best CDs I own (out of a collection of 100+). Together with Project 86's Truthless Heroes, this is the quality and the face music should have, and Christian music needs.

I am excited, after the emergence of an amazing debut album, brave saint saturn has done it again. The album is a hit and I can't get enough of "The Sun also Rises." I recommend checking these guys out, Reese Roper does a magnificent job on vocals and lyrically witnesses to all who hear his music. These guys have been a huge Christian influence for myself and I really hope they continue to make music for a long, long time.

I would suggest than anyone who has not heard it, listen to Brave Saint Saturn's first album, "So Far From Home" because it sets the stage wonderfuly for this one. If you have heard the first one and like it, know that they have improved upon that in every way possible, from production value, to lyrics, to musical depth. When I first heard this album all I could say was, "Whoah...that rocked." Had I not just purchased Five Iron Frenzy's "The End is Near" this one would have dominated my cd player.

To those of you who have not heard Brave Saint Saturn I suppose I would describe them as a sad, rock, with a touch of emo band with lyrics powerful enough to make any guy misty eyed and music good enough to back those lyrics up.

All in all this is a wonderful addition to any music lover's collection, especiall those who love FIF or BSS. Five Stars, easy.

One of the best albums I've ever heard. I'm a major Reese Roper fan, but I've got to say that this is a cut above even most of his regular, awesome stuff. An album of beautiful music which tells a simple narrative: A group of astronauts, in orbit around Saturn's moon Titan, suffer a mechanical malfunction that propels them into the dark side of Titan. Mission Control back on earth, along with the astronaut's families, don't know what happened or if they're even still alive. At the end, the ship pulls out of the dark side of Titan into the light and they all survived.

A simple tale, but not one told directly, the monologue tracks excluded, which are ones like "Prologue", "Gemini" and "Atropos" which are ambience music and a character giving a mnologue. The details of the story are kept very vague, so you have to fill in the spaces yourself. The lyrics do no tell the story(with a few exceptions, like "The Sun Also Rises", "Titan" and possibly "Enamel"), but the tone of the pieces along with the narrative tracks give you a feel for what is going on.

A few of the songs I don't particularly like, like "Babie's Breath", but those are deeply in the minority and do not detract from the overall excellence.

My first taste of the new album was actually a promotional download of Sun Also Rises and, well, what can I say? It was disappointing. It seemed to lack musical depth - it was good, but not striking. I had reservations on the album until I actually bought it.

It is, well, simply awesome. Many of the songs that are less-than-stellar as stand-alones are more than buttressed by the support of the more-than-stellar tracks. Mercury, The Sun Also Rises, and Binary are supported by the two very cool narrations (with great background music, care of Saki, their engineer), Enamel and Anastasia. Titan, itself a pretty good song, is made great by Estrella and Gemini, and so on. A half-star off my rating was in Tooth & Nail's censoring of two words and half a line, although luckily it's done tastefully so it doesn't interfere in the musical flow.

Two half stars off (the other half was for the odd lack of stand-alone song quality) makes for a four-star product, but taken as a whole it really does sound like a five star. Sincerity, awesome lyrics and performance, and a great engineer (I think that's part of what makes Brave Saint Saturn and Five Iron Frenzy soundso good) all combine to create a powerful whole that fits with almost any CD collect. Except rap. And [weak] pop/hip-hop.

When I first stuck this album in my stereo, it was for backround music while I read an assignment for one of my classes. I found that I couldn't read "When We Were Orphans," as I was supposed to because I was too busy listening to the sounds of Brave Saint Saturn's newest album.

That's not saying that it took a few listens to get into. But for the past few days, I've been hooked. The melodies are complicated, fusing commonplace guitars and drums with the bleeps and whirrs of computers and synthesizers, producing a souond that is unique, entrancing, and entirely addicting.

Some notable tracks include the opening "The Sun Also Rises," which is catchy and easy to sing along with, "Enamel," with it's great synthesized intro reminiscent of So Far From Home's "Independence Day" and lyrics that anyone who's been rudely dumped can understand, if maybe not sympathize with. Another great track is "Heart Still Beats," one of the two tracks that Dennis wrote and sang.

But I think the most touching is "Estrella," the song that Reese wrote for a friend of his who died. In its simplicity, the chorus is both hopeful and heartbreaking. It also made me sniffle up when I first heard it, and that doesn't happen a lot.

Although Reese may not have the most asthetically pleasing voice in the world, he sings with passion and emotion that is sometimes too raw for just a casual listen.

So, if you get a chance, check this album out. I think it's better, more consistant than "So Far From Home," and, as a perk, finishes the story of the crew of the USS Gloria. Actually, I hope this doesn't finish their story, because I'm looking forward to a few more installments in the story, especially now that Five Iron Frenzy is breaking up. In conclusion, although Brave Saint Saturn often is seen as a bit melancholy, the message is ultimately hopeful.