“Live in the Tension” is Gustafson’s third indie studio project, and its homespun feel immediately makes a few things quite clear. Right off the bat, that title, taken from a John Piper quote: “All of you live in this world and your tensions are great….. our job as Christians is, in this fallen world, to navigate the waters of this tension.” Gustafson embraces this calling with a great heartiness, and in her lyrics you find the same eager devotion.
“Live in the Tension” starts off strongly folkie, with the quiet opener “Heaven to Me,” but the title track picks things up with its splashy drums and pop rock beats. But it’s Gustafson’s lyrics, presented in clear warm tones, that really sit at the heart of this album:
“between wanting to stay and a calling to go/ between wondering and needing to know/ between being honest and being kind/ between waiting and wasting time/it gets a little gray so I will pray/and live in the tension/ and love when I'm nervous/ and err on the side of grace/when I'm not sure/ I lay down my life again as my act of worship/ and by Your strength I will endure/ as I live in the tension.”
Gustafson’s acoustic guitar and warm tones are pleasant enough, through a series of rousing worship tracks. I liked her sound best when presented simply, over stark piano backup (the Scriptural “Return Unto They Rest” and the moving “Toward the Light”). It is in this format that her sincerity shines with the force of a lighthouse beam. But I also enjoyed her when the energy levels picked up a bit, too (the tight energy of “Limitless,” enhanced by some sweet electric guitar noodling). The album also contains two tracks sung in French, mementos, I assume, of her time spent as a youth worker in France.
All in all, “Living in the Tension” offers great sincerity, masterful lyrics (heavy on the John Piper side), and a homespun worship feel. Find out more about Amy Gustafson at her well-organized website: www.Amy.gustafsons.com .
