Tenth Avenue North - The Light Meets The Dark (2010)

These guys know a thing or two about momentum. Their highly anticipated follow-up, The Light Meets the Dark, was released barely two weeks after the group won the Gospel Music Association's most hallowed prize, the Dove Award for Song of the Year. The Florida trio also knows something about expectations, which reached practically stratospheric levels prior to its sophomore record's release. Knowing this, the band turned to a trio of producers, Jason Ingram, Rusty Varenkamp, and Phillip LaRue, who between them had attacked contemporary praise & worship music from practically every angle possible, working with artists as varied as MUTEMATH, David Crowder Band, Leeland, and Bebo Norman. The result is staggering. The Light Meets the Dark mixes praise & worship with intricately emotional pop sentiment that hasn't been heard since Jars of Clay's 1995 debut. Deeply personal cuts like "Healing Begins," "On and On," and "Any Other Way" bring to mind the powerful sensitivity of Jars classics such as "Like a Child" and "Worlds Apart." It also doesn't hurt that lead singer Mike Donehey's voice bears a striking resemblance to Dan Haseltine's, or that his stream-of-consciousness songwriting is just as poetic and lyrical. The album also benefits from a timely sound sure to win over congregations. From top to bottom, The Light Meets the Dark is a tremendous achievement for not only Donehey and crew but for all of contemporary Christian music.