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CURRENTLY IN MUSIC
Doxa Band adds depth to simple songs

Jon Unger Brandt

Flying Free Doxa. Shikina, 2001. $14.99.

The Doxa Band’s latest CD begins with the upbeat title track that hints at the crossover between worship and pop music. Lead singer and lyricist Vijay Manuel has a slightly strained though engaging voice, reminiscent of the Pursuit of Happiness.

The band began out of a series of extremely popular worship evenings in Abbotsford, B.C. Now with its fourth album, Doxa’s popularity in the Fraser Valley continues. Having heard lots of good things about these praise evenings, I was interested in the album. Although not a diehard listener of most worship music, particularly the Vineyard collection so popular these days, I looked forward to seeing what this band could do.

The album did surprise me at points. The instrumentation is strong and quite creative; the band finds ways to add good depth to relatively simple songs. Lyrically, the album is a bit uneven. A few of the songs, such as “Flying Free”, “Take Me Now”, “Away” and “The ‘Na Na’ Song”, create strong visual images, showing Vijay’s song-writing potential. The majority of the songs, however, do not stray far from the tried and true lyrics of most worship music.

If you enjoy worship music with energy, this is a great album. You will find much to appreciate in what Doxa does. If you are looking to go deeper, either musically or lyrically, I would recommend others.

More information about Doxa can be obtained by contacting its Web site.

Doxa Band discography:

Flying Free 2001 All For You 1999 Spiritflow 1998 One by One 1997

Jon Unger Brandt is a member of River East MB Church in Winnipeg.

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Last modified November 13, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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