LE CONCORDE, Second Mansions

This writer has often wondered what an infinite God of such great creativity must think of what passes for Contemporary Christian Music these days, especially modern rock worship where mostly catchy melodies and basic guitar driven tracks serve in support of bland repetitive phrases of praise. Maybe what we need is a whole new genre called Contemporary Catholic Music, spearheaded by the insightful, world wise and humbly God-seeking, truly Holy Spirit and miracle-filled 80’s sophistopop-minded singer songwriter Stephen Becker, dba Le Concorde since his debut 2004 EP.

Spiritually and musically, his return after a 14-year hiatus with the triumphant, continuously engaging, prayerful, authentic and soul-resonating new album Second Mansions is like Jesus’ prodigal son parable come to life. From the powerhouse anthemic funk/rocker (and lead single) “Corpus Christi” (inspired by the short and tragic but devotion and miracle-chronicling life of recently canonized British-Italian Saint Carlo Acutis) through the ominous, haunting and percussively intense cautionary tale about temptation “The Devil is a Mad Dog on a Chain,” Becker chronicles his eventful return to the church and renewal of his faith with the dynamic assistance of some great all-star musical cohorts.

These include drummer/percussionist Liam Bradley (Van Morrison, The Blue Nile) on “The Devil…”;  harmonica masters Brendan Power and Ross Garren, who add a bluesy texture to the lively mediation on relationships, the third lead single “Morning By Morning“; legendary jazz/R&B guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., one of the singer’s all time favorites, on the mystical yet rousing, gospel choir infused “Memoire,” a heartfelt expression of his long journey seeking the love and sweetness of Mary which with any divine providence, should become a faith affirmative staple of Catholic mass; and guitarist Jamie West-Orem of The Fixx on “Thirty-Four Trillion Watts,” a totally joyful, poetic and Fixxified celebration of the moment of Resurrection that is probably one of the most fascinating Easter moment songs ever written (take that CCM!).

Certainly, Becker would give God credit for his musical talent and the creativity to write and record such a masterwork fusing deep faith with shimmering synth excitement that non-believers can glide and groove to. In that spirit, listeners of all religious and musical persuasions will thank the Lord for the initial inspiration for the first song he wrote, the sunny, jangling and ever-throbbing “Saint James,” not to be confused with “St. Jude,” the heavier harmonic rocker that follows, about another of the church’s generous intercessors. He came up with the idea on the streets of Compostela in Spain. with the help of St. James the Greater, who is buried there – and believes that he made his presence known during the recording process to him, keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. and the project’s producer, engineer and mixer Calum Malcolm.