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Derek Webb and his wife Sandra McCracken have a new CD out called Ampersand. It's an EP, and at only 22 minutes it's too short.
Derek, the white t-shirt wearing, shaved head, meticulously intelligent techno-hippie best known for his work with Caedmon's Call followed by his sharp criticism of "the church," does not fit into the contemporary Christian music subculture because, frankly, he's too smart and artistic for it, if you want the truth. American evangelicals want their music to be "positive" and they only let one or two "challenging" songs that urge them to change their ways get onto Christian radio playlists per year. In the past, Derek was all about telling "the church" to wake up, get your heads out of the clouds, and start living like Jesus rather than selfish brats with no sense of anything outside the megachurch mental bubble they're living in. Of course, "the church" couldn't handle that!
So, now you've got Derek and his Sheryl Crow-sounding wife still halfheartedly getting some attention in the Christian music world, but realistically, they couldn't be more distant from it if they tried if you listen to the songs on the new EP. The mainstream will love this disc because it was made with a mainstream mentality, rather than a church one.
Ampersand is a potent mix of neo-folk, alt-country, and bar blues-rock that will appeal to the people who watch Grey's Anatomy and may or may not have a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Ampersand represents the coming together of Derek and his wife as songwriters, collaborating on several tracks and the results are dynamic enough to keep the average listener's attention, and really get the longtime fans excited because as a pair, Derek and Sandra are at the top of their game, artistically and musically. Not only have they produced a son together-- they've produced some potential pop hits, too. "When The Summer's Gone" could easily become a mainstream pop radio hit as it reminds listeners of Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow's "Picture."
Much like Sixpence None The Richer was vaguely Christian and quite popular in mainstream circles (remember "Kiss Me?"), Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken have great potential to be on the playlists of cool college kids everywhere with their latest songs from Ampersand.
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