Grace & Honour The Shines – “Yahweh We Hail”
Grace & Honour The Shines – “Yahweh We Hail” – Single Review
Okay…honestly, this is exceptional stuff.
I kinda mean that by a couple of definitions when it comes right down to it. Exceptional, in the sense that it’s really, really good – and also exceptional, because it somewhat defies the rules in many ways.
Lemme explain…
So…before I even pushed play, I wanted to be sure I had the name right for Grace & Honour The Shines – which…well…I’m still not 100% sure on that, but from what I can tell, I think that I’ve got it right. You can see from the single’s artwork that the name appears differently there, and sometimes you’ll find it online with The Shines in brackets…so…yeah…I mean, it’s a bit confusing, but after scouring the internet, it seems like Grace & Honour The Shines is the general consensus. Anyhow. As I was looking that information up, I noticed that Google also popped the lyrics up for me too, which doesn’t usually happen all that often when you’re in my world & dealing with the independent music-scene. I thought that, since they were right there at my fingertips, I may as well have a peek at’em before I even push play, because sometimes that can help, and as a dude that is well outside of the faith-based community, it can actually be quite interesting to see what religious people like to write about as it’s usually so much different than what I typically get exposed to now. As I always like to remind you, dear readers, dear friends – I was raised with religion, and while that’s not my jam today, I still value what it all taught me. Having said that, I looked over the words, and thought to myself – how could that be enough inside of a three & half minute-long song? Could I possibly be entertained with the amount of repetition that I see?
I’m actually quite happy to report that the answer is yes – but that’s how I mean “Yahweh We Hail” is an exceptional tune. Usually, and perhaps even still to a degree in this instance, I’m always going to advocate on behalf of using the space you have to say MORE…but having said that, I didn’t really feel like I needed anything more than precisely what Grace & Honour The Shines give us here on this single. Because to me, when we’re talking about faith-based tunes, we really wanna hear that passion, that spirit, and that love come beaming through our speakers – and that’s exactly what you’ll get in this song.
Credit where credit is due, not only does it sound spectacular, but it is legitimately entertaining & fully engaging too, which is really thanks to the stellar combination of talent in Grace & Honour The Shines. Right from the very start, the music immediately got me interested, and then hearing the sensational lead vocals from Honour that came in afterwards…I mean…what else could possibly be said? This dude has got a seriously robust & dynamic voice y’all! “Yahweh We Hail” quickly seemed like a truly fantastic tune, full stop. When the female lead in this duo – Grace – joined in as it continued on, it simply got even better to listen to – they make a great pairing of tones and talents without a doubt. The amount of focus and skill they reveal to us as they sing, is undeniably stunning to experience. While repetition is definitely a factor here, it’s also a genuine part of its allure – and again, to be fair, it’s largely a part of what you’ll find commonly in the most dedicated ‘praise songs’ – which is somewhat of a subset genre inside of faith-based music. So in understanding that going in to having a listen, to me, what became crucially important, was whether or not Grace & Honour The Shines could find enough versatility in repetition to make this single work – and yes indeed, they did. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I was seriously wowed by the results here – this whole performance stands out for all the right reasons. Try the path I took for yourself – read the lyrics of “Yahweh We Hail” on paper, see if you can get an idea of how much you think you might be entertained by what you see, and then go play the song…I promise you, if you do that, you’ll be as blown away as I was by how irresistible this song is.
I suppose the real lesson to be learned here, is that if you’re REALLY feeling the music you’re making, you believe in what you do with true conviction, you can yield unexpected results that will surprise just about anyone listening. Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the incredible voices you’ll find at the heart of Grace & Honour The Shines – that’ll definitely help ya move the needle even more if that’s the case – but truly, they’re a testament to how commitment and intention play such an enormous role in how much appeal music can have to our ears, or how much a message can appeal to our soul. I am massively impressed by how dynamic the vocals of Grace & Honour The Shines can be, and how much variety & versatility there seemed to be in this song considering all that I told you about earlier on. They should be over the moon about what they’ve created with “Yahweh We Hail” – it’s undeniably catchy, but it really does speak to the soul as well. You feel what they feel as they sing this song, and I don’t know if I can think of a compliment I could pay to Grace & Honour The Shines that would be higher than that. It’s a glorious thing to be able to communicate this strongly through music, and after listening to this extraordinarily gifted combination of talents on display here, I can assure you, their message has been received, 100%. Full marks – I’ve got no notes – “Yahweh We Hail” is powerful & profound y’all – repetition can certainly help you remember the words of any song, sure – but it’s a performance like this one here that makes the experience of listening to music as memorable as it could possibly ever be.
Find music from Grace & Honour The Shines at their official YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@gh_shines
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