There are so many amazing things about Joel Kroeker. He is a wonderful guitar player as can be heard on ?At the Drive In?. He has a real talent for arranging deep and spiritual songs such as ?Hymn Number One?. He is also a wonderful live performer who can connect to an audience with just his voice and guitar. Unfortunately these things are not pulled into a cohesive whole on Joel?s new release Closer to the Flame. The album opens with a barn burning typical rock song ?Against Myself? which is quite stripped down enough to really grab you by the throat. The album then turns towards nostalgia with ?King of Hearts? but contains too much vocal layering to produce a full emotion. The production of these songs does not offer enough room for them to breath and allow their messages to truly sink in. It isn?t until the song ?Sacred Heart?, the fifth song on the album, that Joel pulls out his strongest material with an inspiring song that truly displays all of his talents in one space. There are some really good songs on Joel Kroeker?s Closer to the Flame but not enough to make buying the album worthwhile. That being said he is getting better with each release. Go see him live or buy one of his songs from a legitimate online music store. Thankfully in this day in age its possible to support emerging artists that show promise without having to shell out for a piece of plastic that you might not give enough spins to get your money?s worth.

By Rob Pingle
Apr 22, 2007