Micah Stampley has come a long way from those early days propped up on the table. His self-released sophomore release, “A Fresh Wind,” is well titled, blowing the winds of sincere worship into a market of commercialism and duplication. Stampley offers instead a Scripturally-based, heartfelt, and creative project that is steeped in sincerity. Fourteen tracks written by Stampley, either alone or with his wife and entrepreneurial partner, Heidi, cover every mood of worship, from mellow adoration (“You Are Lord”), to fierce warfare (“Holy Visitation”), to exuberant full-choir praise (“Sovereign God”).
His debut, “Songbook of Micah,” garnered much attention, with a Stellar Award nomination, the 2nd highest debut of a Male Gospel Artist in Billboard’s history, and maybe best of all, a personal invitation to sing with Aretha Franklin. “A Fresh Wind” will only seal the deal for this passionate and vertically-focused gospel artist.
The album starts off well enough, with the rousing but ordinary “We Lift You Up,” but the second track is anything but ordinary. Stampley gives wings to Charlie Hall’s “Holy Visitation,” its intense strings and staccato beats adding up to a rousing plea for a generation. In “Holy Visitation,” Stampley has given us one of the year’s best spiritual warfare songs. “No Compromise” contains in the same fierce vein, enriched by a hearty funk flavor. “You Are Lord” starts off in the mellow range, but quietly builds to a fiery crescendo of praise.
I have to say it, I loved the freedom of “Another Place” and its companion piece, “Fervent Prayer.” Stampley and his wife Heidi together put out “A Fresh Wind” on their own label, the freshly-minted Levitical Records, and maybe this is what explains their artistic and spiritual liberty. But Stampley holds back nothing on these moving psalmic tracks, as his heartfelt worship grows into deep ardor, and he is lost in the Spirit. I found his brave liberty contagious, and I love that they included it on the record. It has a great deal to do with the way this album transcends the commercialism that lessens other projects.
“Never Let You Go” is another fresh psalmic treat, and the powerful “Unfailing Love” brings it all down to a personal level with its unflinching look at the price paid for our salvation. Another standout track is the tribal “Call to the Nations,” with its free flowing jam feel, enlivened by warm horns and some island-like percussive elements. “Marvelous” is an up-tempo rouser, leading perfectly into the closing “Sovereign God.”
Micah Stampley’s “A Fresh Wind” leaves quite an impression, and I predict will do much to open up the genre to new fans. Very nicely done.
