Style: Slick worship rock; compare to Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Michael W. Smith
Top tracks: “Future Version,” “The One You Need”
Shane Barnard and Shane Everett started playing together in college more than 10 years ago. At times they’re still referred to as an acoustic duo, but it’s a bit of a misnomer now. The Shanes still play acoustic guitars, but The One You Need is far closer to epic, chorus-driven worship rock than Dave Matthews dorm-rock. The duo unabashedly belts out gospel truths, and you can’t knock the sincerity of the title track, an honest letter from Barnard to his daughter. But the songwriting is so formulaic that the songs run together. Even the more sonically adventurous tracks (“Future Version,” “Grace Is Sufficient”) eventually revert to singable yet unmemorable, overdramatic refrains.
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