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www.questionsindialect.com

Mississippi-based Questions in Dialect describe themselves as a combination of art rock and film score moods. They do in fact sound much like the movie soundtrack that Pink Floyd and early Radiohead never wrote: ambient, instrumental progressive rock ala Unwed Sailor and Sigur Rós with a smattering of free-form jazz. With eight tracks averaging six minutes each of excellent background music that grows more meaningful with each listen, this is the type of album you expect from a seasoned band of middle-aged musicians looking to make music on the side from their day jobs—not from a young quartet on their first recording. Let that be testimony as to how good QID sounds. As for the "faith angle," well, it's tough to express faith in instrumental music, and the band doesn't claim to have an agenda behind making music. But the members are Christians who state their influences as "God, life, love, and the wild west"—that order. Their beliefs are also reflected in such titles as "The God of Green Hope," "Walking on Water," and "The Resurrection of the Dead." QID played a well-received show at Cornerstone in 2003, and will be hitting Cornerstone again in '04. Definitely an alternative listening experience.

www.chiphouston.com

With a sound reminiscent of Kenny Loggins, Edwin McCain, Warren Barfield, and Wayne Kirkpatrick, Chip Houston's debut album is nothing more than straight-up acoustic pop/rock—done extremely well. It ought to be, since it reflects five years of songwriting recorded over two years. While only 10 songs (totaling 41 minutes), the quality and effort shows. Houston has been toying with the acoustic guitar since college, where he was soon performing at campus coffeehouses. He quit his job as a history teacher in 2001 to pursue a full-time music career, beginning with the local Atlanta music scene and expanding into the Southeastern states. Let's hope quitting his day job pays off—this guy can write and sing. Houston's infectious melodies make many of these songs radio-friendly, the strong backing band make the sound more credible, and his thoughtful lyrics (which explore themes beyond faith) keep his songs from succumbing to Christian pop formula. One minor complaint: There are painfully long fifteen-second pauses of silence between tracks. No matter—hit the skip button if you have to. Chip Houston's enjoyable brand of acoustic pop/rock is well worth the wait.

www.geniesongs.com

Genie is probably the most successful independent artist you've never heard of, if not one of the more generous. She's recorded with Sony/Epic, BMG, and Warner Brothers, writing and producing twenty-six CDs over her career. According to her site, more than 3 million recordings of her songs have been sold so far. She's since become an independent artist because of health issues, to retain ownership and control of her copyrights, and consequently, to be more charitable in her giving. Through her own nonprofit charity, she's given away more than $2 million! Likewise, all profits to Wildflowers go to helping the needy of the world. She looks a bit like Helen Hunt's sister, but Genie (Nilsson) has more in common with Kate Bush and Michelle Tumes—singer/songwriters with delicate, almost childlike voices who play piano (an antique Steinway, in Genie's case). Additionally, the breathy arrangements by her husband Troy give Genie's music an Enya-like quality. It's all very tranquil and soothing, balancing sentimental songs for her grandmother ("Wildflowers"), parents ("Undying Love"), and husband ("You Steal My Heart Away") with spiritually themed tracks ("Quiet Place," "Streams in the Desert," "Someday"). On top of that, the album's 12 songs appear twice—those who want instrumentals or backing tracks to sing to need only skip to the corresponding tracks beginning with 13. Talk about thoughtfulness!

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