Project 86 has cranked out killer album after killer album for the last 10 years. just when I turned the corner on faith, they showed up on the scene and gave me the grace to be me. i.e., having sobered up and settled down, I feared my faith embrace would force me to hold hands with the characteristically pathetic CCM.

thanks be to God I was wrong. hardcore wrong.

each album displays explosive growth and an appreciation for intelligent music. on top of their tight theology and stunning instrumentation, they’re literate. “Hollow Again” from Truthless Heroes gives a growling nod to T.S. Eliot.

their last release, Rival Factions, masterfully studies the various angles on family feuds. within Christendom, that is. one particular song simultaneously grieves and relieves me - “Sanctuary Hum.”

 

the song pictures the pain of the oppressed suffering from silence. in other words, church is often the last place on earth that we feel comfortable bearing our pain. or shame. or anything that doesn’t fit into a CCM video.

by God’s grace, my church is a safe place, and our pastor models integrity, grace, and compassion. but I still fear being real. it hurts to hurt publicly. as I’ve mentioned before, we’re studying Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. movement four: tassels, calls us to come out of our darkness and be real. Andrew Schwab, lead singer and poet for Project 86, says of the following song:

And when violence prevails in the hidden sanctuary of the church, it can cause the followers to cry out for relief from heaven itself. But when those who have been oppressed find meaning not in secrecy, but in revealing their dark secrets, there is healing. No matter the wound.

tune in, rock out, and be free.

Smile, wave
Convince the sanctuary, our charade
Though you’re the object of my deep rage
Just counterfeit this holiness for me
And everything will be OK…

My sweet one
You tell no lies
The greatest reason to be despised

But we must pretend
Your broken wrist
Just happened when you fell off your bike

So this is
The reason
The sanctuary hums
God save us
God save us
From your chosen ones

Smile, wave
Protect his pulpit from all suffering
He’ll make celebrity the end game
So much more valuable than family
Not even violence can betray…

As long as
You keep your lips
Locked up til the end of this age

And even
If you won’t
It’s your word up against what he’ll say

So this is
The reason…

Cry, Girl
Become the wails of victims unheard
Your tears have given you the calm nerve
So if they’re asking you to hide your bane
You just keep screaming to the grave…

So this is
The reason…

You’ll be
The reason
The helpless celebrate
He takes us
He takes us
From our violent shame