Brandon Lake serves up his most musically ambitious project yet with “King of Hearts.” The eagerly anticipated album dropped amidst a flurry of fanfare thanks to juggernaut single “Hard Fought Hallelujah (feat. Jelly Roll).”
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” debuted to acclaim after Lake initially released a version of the raw track by himself. When he added Jelly Roll, however, the song exploded. The pair was suddenly caught up in a media frenzy as the immediate hit took social platforms by storm, gained traction at country radio and became one of the biggest Christian radio success stories of the year.
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Is “Hard Fought Hallelujah” a worship song? The answer largely depends on how you define worship these days. As a seasoned worship leader who grew up in the church, Lake would likely argue that all 16 songs on “King of Hearts” are worship tracks. They just all might not be sung on a Sunday morning. Take the fiery Revelation-fueled “SEVENS,” for instance. The screamed refrain and the stacked electric guitars don’t make for a congregational-friendly moment, but nonetheless, it’s attracting an atypical demographic that might not traditionally listen to faith-based music.
Elsewhere, the South Carolina native subtly tips his cowboy hat to country on lead track “Plans,” Prodigal Son-inspired “Daddy’s DNA” and story-driven “Spare Change.”
On the acoustic-grounded “Plans,” which is tailor-made for a contemporary church setting, Lake leans into Jeremiah 29:11. Meanwhile, for “As For Me & My Home” the father of three borrows truth from Joshua 24:15.
Scripture, Biblical parables and giants of the faith all take centerstage across “King of Hearts.” And while Lake’s unorthodox mix of country, pop, hip-hop and even screamo might elude categorization, the five-time GRAMMY® winner weaves it all together seamlessly with a lyrical thread that is unabashedly Christian.
With a few exceptions, “King of Hearts” is surprisingly characterized by a vulnerable, mid-tempo vibe filled with plenty of traditional moments to balance the more left-of-center ones. Lake enlists Gospel music pioneer CeCe Winans for his own version of “I Know A Name,” which he originally wrote and recorded with Elevation Worship.
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As with previous efforts, Lake doesn’t stop contending for miracles on worship-focused “The Great I Am Can,” “Remember the Miracles (feat. Hank Bentley)” and “But God.” While more pop-centric in nature, “Watch This!” follows a similar theme, though musically, it’s more adventurous.
The poignant title cut finds Lake embodying the thief on the cross. The brooding “Ghost Stories” and the bright “That’s Who I Praise” recall God’s faithfulness in the past, while album closer “The Half Has Not Been Told” merely scratches the surface of His goodness on a benediction that delivers the kind of gritty worship selection that first garnered Lake a national stage.
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“King of Hearts” proves worship can take on a million different looks. At times, Lake’s gritty vocal is the only constant from track to track. Yet, he manages to satisfy a myriad of preferences on a collection that’s as multidimensional as the singer himself.
Lake is currently one of Christian music’s most fearless acts, and “King of Hearts” is proof neither cultural expectations, former precedents nor inevitable criticism can deter him from stepping out and stretching the bounds of what worship music can become. These 16 new songs are strong evidence that the genre might be evolving, but the message remains untarnished; and Lake is undoubtedly the modern torchbearer.
