Broken families are more than just a social nimble.  Just like second hand smoking, if left unnoticed for a period of time, brokenness kills.  Children of these families are bound to replicate the same hurt they have had experienced when they grow up.  Children of abusive families become abusers themselves.  This is because sin is cyclical; victims become predators if they allow their hurts to slowly fester into bitterness.  So, what is the diagnosis for treating our brokenness?  According to All Things New, the answer is always Jesus.  No amount of counselling or education could eradicate the biting effects of sin unless we come to seek healing at the Cross of Jesus.  This theme is first and foremost reflected in this foursome's band name "All Things New."  Inspired by 2 Cor. 5:17 where the Apostle Paul tells us that if anyone who is in Christ he is a new creation, this quartet really takes this verse to heart as reflected on this disc.  Whether they are dealing with the brokenness of families or loves or lives, like the compelling swing of a baseball bat, they always make a homerun for the Cross.  This is what sets this eponymous album apart from the numerous pop-rock Christian bands out there; and such a distinction is what makes a great band Godly.

Signed to BEC Recordings (the imprint also of Kutless, Seventh Day Slumber and Jeremy Camp), All Things New comprises of Garrett Hornbuckle on lead vocals, Jeff Stein on guitar, Luke Wycuff on drums and Josh Schou on bass and guitar.  Though they are all in the pink of their twenties, don't let their youthfulness fool you.  They have had seen and experience the pother of broken lives, families, hearts and faith.  Lead single "New Man" is autobiographical of Garrett Hornbuckle's childhood.  A shimmer of a song to the heart, "New Man" details how as a young boy Hornbuckle saw his dad bidding goodbye as his parents divorced.  As if that was not dire enough, his mom later remarried a man who abused Hornbuckle.  Sparing no decorum of censorship, Hornbuckle sings with a sheer honesty about his pain and the restoration that Christ brings:   "I tried to find my worth in things that didn't work /My confidence was broken, I was hopeless / But God, You have made me new, You've resorted my heart and turned these ashes into life..."Also inspired by a true testimony of a youth about to take his own life before finding Christ through members of a church, the banjo-introduced southern tinged rock "In Your Reach" is another heart tugging piece.

Bass guitarist Josh Schou gets his chance to tell of his story of how God woke up from a life of drugs and partying on the testimonial "Great Things."  Starting off with a slow teased out verse of how God forgives us our sins, the chorus then explodes with some crushing drums and thunderous guitars in celebration of the greater things God has for planned for those who trust Him.  "Washed Over Me" finds the bys going back to their Southern roots  as they bring out the banjo and their tight knitted harmonies on this toe-tapper exalting in the atoning blood of Jesus.   In a mostly upbeat album, "You Came for Me" and "Keep Me on Your Knees" decelerates the tempo for some contemplative moments.  The latter "You Came for Me" would have had theologian John Calvin smiling as the boys marvel at the glorious mystery of God's election. While "Keep Me on Your Knees" is more a straight forward  worship ballad with the meditative excellence of Matt Redman.

Though All Things New co-wrote all the ten cuts, they did garner help from outside too.  Of all their co-writers Sanctus Real's Matt Hemmitt is standout as he helps the boys out with "Borderline."  With a strong build up to the chorus assisted by violins, a choir and Hornbckle's soaring tenor, this song is an epic of a prayer unfolding with a deep spiritual fervency.  Instead of blaming God or turning their trials into bitterness, All Things New have used their brokenness to point us to Jesus right through these 10 songs.  And knowing that they have lived through these songs gives them a credibility that comes across in their singing as real, convicting and soul-transforming.