His just released “Worth Repeating” contains 14 tracks, eleven of which are originals, and each track reveals a drive for the deep things of God. These songs aren’t just your standard “Oh God, we love you” verses; Cherry goes deeper than that, peering into the dark recesses of the soul, where resistance to sacrifice hides, along with unspoken doubts and fears. That’s just the kind of dark muck that Cherry seems to enjoy unearthing, and his writing is driven by that kind of raw authenticity.
The jazz-flaired “Trinity” kicks things off nicely, raw power simmering in the thick B3 chords and Cherry’s gritty vocals. I love the slow blues burn of “Law of the Lord,” the electric guitar accenting all the right spots, often coinciding with the Scriptural strong points as well. Denbigh Cherry’s music is saturated with Scripture, a trend that I appreciate. As he says in his liner notes, “What more can we possibly say than what He’s already said? The answer: nothing. He’s already said it all. All we can do is merely repeat what His Word tells us…. over and over again until He returns.” Like the title says, “Worth Repeating.”
The jazz bounce returns with “I’ve Never Seen,” another edgy track with a very sinuous groove, the strings burning out a weirdly Mid-eastern vibe and the B3 jamming madly beneath it all. Denbigh Cherry and his tight band rock with a simmering fierceness, but when things slow down, they’re just as strong. Piano ballad “Your Promise & Your Price” is a tender and moving recognition of Christ’s sacrifices, its lyrics staring unabashedly into the deep truths of the cross. The honest questions of “If You Asked” continue in that vein of daring self-examination over a quiet acoustic guitar. Denbigh’s wife Stephanie penned the lyrics of "Raah," and she has all the eloquence of her husband and then some: “Deep in liquid darkness, where sound won’t resonate/ Your Word is not clear to me and I just can’t feel Your grace/ But You have lovingly protected all I willfully rejected/ Now I’m proud to be afflicted with this pain.”
It is to her that the stunning "Stephanie's Song" was written as a wedding gift. I don’t know when I’ve heard a love song that contained the same astonishing mix of Scriptural and romantic truth, nor one delivered with more fierce passion. Denbigh Cherry brings several skill sets to “Worth Repeating,” every one of them highly developed. “Worth Repeating” will provoke and move you both spiritually and musically. Visit his website for more information.
