Review: The Blood + The Breathe: Songs that Tell the Story of Redemption by Caroline Cobb

5 out of 5 Stars
Singer/Songwriter: Caroline Cobb
Buy The Blood + The Breath: Songs that Tell the Story of Redemption

Find out more about Caroline Cobb and the story behind the album!

Caroline Cobb presents us with an auditory gospel feast with her latest album The Blood + The Breath: Songs that Tell the Story of Redemption. I’ve had it on repeat all week soaking in the gospel truths proclaimed. She walks us through the story of the gospel with songs filled with Scripture allusions, themes, and metaphors.

What she’s sought to do is a hefty task. One which could easily be over done or under done. Caroline hits the sweet spot. She’s got a talent for story telling and for making Jesus the hero. The album also progresses as the story unfolds. She starts with a doxology from Romans 11 in “From Him, To Him” moves to the folksy and uplifting “Garden” and “All the Stars” then the somber yet hopeful “The Passover Song (feat. Sean Carter)” and “Your Wounds.”

I  love the texture of the songs especially as the album progresses. “Dry Bones” unveils a gritty, bluesy, folksy sound (not sure how to explain it). Think Johnny Cash. Caroline doesn’t shy away from tough topics either. I love how she tackles sin head on in “Everything You’ve Heard” (a first person sonic narrative of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount). She sings,

You’ve heard it said, “don’t you cheat on your wife”
But your mind is a motel room
And you undress the other woman with your eyes

Oh everything you’ve heard, I’m turning on its head
I’m cutting to the quick Of the law and the prophets
I’m gonna "nish what they said

She immediately moves from the grittiness of sin to the heart of the gospel (the cross and the resurrection). I’ve talked a lot about the importance of music that envelops the entire experience of humanity living in a fallen world. “Gethsemane (Heavy Load to Carry)” just nails this. Another first person retelling of Jesus’s Gethsemane experience and death. What’s so beautiful is the depth of sorrow the song portrays and it doesn’t resolve until the next song, “He Is Risen.” “Breath of God” brings us full circle back to the Garden where God breathed into us the breath of life. But now we are alive in Christ and praising God for his power to save. “Wake Up” may be my favorite song on the album and definitely has my favorite lines,

Sin it comes and takes the reigns
Builds its kingdom on the backs of slaves

Through a second man Adam’s better son
Death it dies, and life it comes

Every power under his feet
Death is dyin’ in defeat

The images in those lines resonate with me. They pop. I feel the former weight of sin and the freedom I now have in Christ. The album ends where it starts: praising God in “Glory, Power, Honor Forever.”

The Blood + The Breath will lead you on a journey through the gospel. It will drive you to Christ. It will drive you to worship the God who saves. It will cause your heart to leap with joy because you were a slave and now you’re a son. This is an album you will want to buy and keep on repeat--a great resource for creating a gospel liturgy in your home.

Enter the giveaway below but don’t forget to buy the album as well (if you win you can bless someone else with the album)!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Blood + The Breath: Songs that Tell the Story of Redemption free from Caroline Cobb. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

If you plan on purchasing The Blood + The Breath: Songs that Tell the Story of Redemption, consider supporting Caroline Cobb by purchasing from iTunes.