I saw This Beautiful Republic play in Nashville this spring and enjoyed their live sound. Their cleverly-titled debut, Even Heroes Need a Parachute, establishes them as another Ohio band to watch--from the early days of Glass Harp to Relient K and Sanctus Real now, Ohio has a rich tradition of Christian rockers. Listening to the band, I kept thinking Ben Olin's vocals had a familiar ring to them. Eventually it hit me that on some phrases, he sounds just like Mojo from O. C. Supertones (that's a good thing).
Unlike some bands, This Beautiful Republic doesn't avoid using the name of Jesus in multiple songs, even in the song title "Jesus To The World." The song "Let's Be Honest" says
I'm dead because I want to live in Jesus / But one day I will rise up / I'll try to show you who He is / His blood flows down / to cause my innocence
The music is generally modern guitar rock but varies quite a bit, even adding some screamo moments with "Going Under." The song "Black Box" creatively uses the airplane black box as a metaphor for what message remains at the end of our lives:
After all the smoke has cleared / There's only one record that they'll ever see / Our black box says it all / It tells them who we are
Even Heroes Need a Parachute is for fans of Christian rock with plenty of melody and guitars. Think a bit of Bleach, a bit of Sanctus Real--their fellow rockers from Toledo--and some Jimmy Eat World.
Visit This Beautiful Republic.