Spirituality is one of the toughest subjects to put to song. To the straight laced artist, one fears being labeled in the same vein as Jars of Clay, Relient K, or Amy Grant. Even worse, the artist’s loss of meaning: a message thrown to the wolves to be gobbled up by necessity, ignoring all flavor and nutrient content. Sure, we digest a lot of things that are bad for us, but that’s all open to interpretation. Some may say that Spiritual music is your dose of vegetables or it could be considered fast food, and an even faster way to salvation (I can see some bad Burger King memes emerging in my brain.).

John Jeremiah Sullivan’s essay entitled “Upon this Rock” established Christian Rock as genre that doesn’t encompass Christianity or rock, but instead is a very secular experience, inviting to its followers alone. He highlights this in the most respectful ways, but the aura that the genre has presented in the last decade isn’t a flattering one to those on the outside. That’s not to say that there aren’t artists who don’t dwell in similar themes to stunning conclusions; Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” being a stunning example of such, but more often they are struggling with them.

Jim James’ Regions of Light and Sound of God inhabits that niche of the open spiritualist, exploring the idea without pinning it to a single religion. In 2008, James was home recovering from an injury, suffered after falling off stage at a My Morning Jacket. While on the mend, Gary Burden, art director for many artists including Neil Young and My Morning Jacket, gave James a copy of Lynd Ward’s God’s Man, and in doing so, gave him the inspiration for this record.

Like the protagonist of Ward’s work, James goes it alone of this record. He plays all the instruments, produces and engineers the record. He also seems to take this record a little more serious – just look at the name it’s released under.

Regions of Light and Sound of God is explored through many different motifs, from piano jazz (“State of A.E.I.O.U.”), to island instrumentation (“Exploding”), and even Middle-Eastern sounds (“All Is Forgiven”). These shifting motifs serve James’ intentions well, a unification through diversity of sorts; we may all take different journeys, but in the end, it’s always to the same god. Where Jack White’s solo effort – Blunderbuss – fell short; shifting styles and no unifying theme, James’ triumphs. He doesn’t sacrifice his vision for this record, in terms of musical styles, like White did, but instead unifies them through divinity. That alone makes this record a triumph. His protagonists always serve a higher purpose from song to song, and James puts them through everything that he’s gone through or could be going through still.

In many ways, this record feels like a late soundtrack to Ward’s masterpiece. It sounds from the distant past with a new vigor, a revived sense, and a beauty that is unmistakable. This album’s victories far exceed its short comings. There are no easy answers, and likewise, there are no easy questions, but you have to start somewhere. It’s as much about the journey as it is about the end result, a lesson I’ve tried to learn all my life, that everyone tries to learn. Regions of Light and Sound of God is part of James’ journey, and for a little while you can follow along.

Album Rating: Buy It on CD or Vinyl

Listener Co-efficient: Passive Listen