Editor Reviews:

Album Description:
Certain albums are obvious landmarks in the history of Christian music. These are the times when vision meets talent in a divine appointment that produces a collection of songs that help define an artist's career: WhiteHeart's 'Freedom', Amy Grant's 'Lead Me On', dcTalk's 'Jesus Freak', and Michael W. Smith's 'Eye 2 Eye', among others. MercyMe's new release, 'Coming Up to Breathe', is one of those albums. Singer Bart Millard is pleased with the success of MercyMe's previous albums, but admits there's a special satisfaction in this one. "We've always joked about wanting to make our 'Freedom' or 'Lead Me On', and time will tell if that is ever the case," Millard says, "but we just gave it everything we had. There was no holding back on this record. Regardless of what you are going through in life, regardless of what you are consumed with, regardless of what fills up your everyday life, there are times you have to stop and surface and take a deep breath and remember what's important. That's what this album is for us. It's addressing everything we've gone through and realizing the one common denominator in all this is Jesus. That's what is worth taking a breath for."

Amazon.com:
They set out to nail down a defining moment in their career, the MercyMe golden spike if you will. The goal for Coming Up to Breathe was a genre groundbreaking release such as Amy Grant's Lead Me On or U2's The Joshua Tree. While it's hard to go that far, it's safe to say that MercyMe's artistic integrity has met commercial appeal somewhere in the middle with Coming Up to Breathe. The one-time worship band certainly know how to write a hit and they bring us more of the same with radio-ready tracks like "So Long Self," "Last One Standing," and "Safe and Sound." But lead man Bart Millard digs a little deeper on the self-revealing "No More No Less" and "One Trick Pony." Lyrically both tracks reveal a band unapologetic about their faith and creative destiny. "Pony" is a pleasant divergence with its slide guitar and Mississippi mud atmosphere, conjuring up images of the band sitting at a crossroads somewhere in the Southland. MercyMe has never been afraid to show their musical influences on their sleeve. That's why you shouldn't be surprised by the Edge-like guitars on "Something About You" or even the pounding rhythm chords of "Hold Fast," which evoke Coldplay comparisons. So it's that struggle between creating something new and holding true to your principles that the band spells out for us. Perhaps Millard sums this up best on "3:42 AM (Writer's Block)" when he sings of a man out of words but not out of passion to allow God to speak through him. That's always been the aim of MercyMe and in this case, their hammer has driven this spike solidly into the ground. --Michael Lyttle

Rating : - Misses the mark
Mercy Me has always had a knack for writing good, catchy material. The underside is that their first couple of albums were pretty hit and miss. On "Spoken For," that problem was finally rectified: the band fully hit their stride with a quality masterpiece. I was incredibly eager for their next release, especially given all the hoopla surrounding it.

Sorry, "Coming Up to Breathe" is a disappointment. There are still a few likable songs, but the arrangements are cluttered and busy, the lead singer too often strays beyond a comfortable range, and the quality and interest-factor dip as the album goes along.

The upshot is that I still listen regularly to "Spoken For." "Coming Up to Breathe" on the other hand? Almost never.