A new band and an eclectic sound, Houston rock team IMAGINE THIS have landed in the CD racks. Tony Cummings brings the Iowdown.

Imagine This

To find recognition and airplay in the highly overcrowded US CCM scene requires serious musical chops, corporate muscle and no little determination. But Imagine This, whose eponymous album is out now via Alliance Music, have achieved a breakthrough. In the process they have demonstrated that the once near-sacred convention that style hopping doesn't sell albums is passé. For Imagine This take in a wild variety of styles and influences... metal... pop ... funk...all are gobbled up and regurgitated by this multi-racial multi-talented band. Driving force behind Imagine This is the band's main composer, lead guitarist and album producer Daryl Youngblood. Still only 24, Youngblood has taken his fellow band members - Rick Weinland, drums, rap vocals; Ahmed Montgomery, bass, rap vocals; Trey Herbert, lead vocals, rhythm guitar; and Tambri Hunt, keys - in an extraordinary diverse musical journal.

On 'Imagine This' pop hook ditties like "Word To The World" sit next to the glinting metal of "I Know", the abrasive raps of "Feel The Heat" and the Beatles-style harmonies of "Now Is The Time". The lyrics on the band's debut are pitched firmly at the mindset and concerns of this young band's peer group. Says Rick Weinland, "The things spoken of in the songs are things that they can relate to 'cos they're things that people from that generation are going through: suicide, drugs, dealing with peer pressure, the god of money."

One of the standout cuts on 'Imagine This' is the rapid-syllable rocker "Revolution". Comments Daryl Youngblood, "The revolution in this song is talking about Heaven 'cos the revolution is the girl will change. We're talking about the big change. It says in Corinthians we will all be changed. There will be no more crying and no more pain. That's the big change."

The album uses imagery and concepts a non-Christian would be familiar with. "We need to challenge people's minds, we need to raise questions, we need to make them think of things," explains Daryl. "And not necessarily give them so many answers, but do that in the questions that are asked. We're trying to live our faith. We hold regular Bible studies in the band. Nothing formal. It's more just being around a Christian group of friends where you can hold each other accountable, where we're not afraid to say something."

One of the most ear-catching aspects of 'Imagine This' is the band's rich and inventive harmonies. "We have great singers in the band," admits Youngblood. "As a producer I definitely wanted to display that. We've really been working on the harmonies for a long time, and that's kind of a neat element to add to the rock and roll sound.

Youngblood has a good explanation for what sets this music apart from the rest of the pack. "We're putting across what we think are the strong points of Christianity, but we're trying to say them in unique ways. There are so many biblical things to talk about, but there are also so many different ways to say them."

Youngblood wants this music to stand out as creative to those who listen to it, but, more importantly, he wants it to be a tool to reach out to so many who are troubled.

"We want them to feel that we as people are real, that we have troubles, we aren't afraid to look out at the world and say, 'We're in this with you and we've got to stick together.' On top of that, we'd like to show them that Jesus Christ is the answer. And our songs, Lord willing, will lead them in that direction."

Youngblood, if you'll pardon the pun, is just the kind of young blood that is needed in Christian music today. This band is both creative and compassionate. It is both musical and lyrical. It has imagination, yet it also is well grounded in the basics of the gospel. What more can we ask for?

It's a rare thing to find a band that can bridge the progressive side of the musical spectrum with the mainstream.

When a band like Imagine This is discovered, it should be celebrated. And who would have expected to make such a find in the heart of the Bible belt, in a little old state we like to call Texas? Who would have imagined this?