I know I’ve talked about John Mark McMillan here before, but for the second edition of Music Monday (music you should be listening to) I couldn’t think of anyone better to spotlight, since I’m still listening to his latest album pretty regularly.

John Mark McMillan is an artist from North Carolina, and his music definitely has that Carolina backwoods feel to it. His music feels…raw…and definitely has a more “old-school” rock feel to it. No electronica here .

You’ve probably heard his song “How He Loves”, which I believe was covered by about 20 or so artists in the past few years (viva hyperbole!), most notably by Kim Walker and David Crowder (although there’s a bit of controversy around Crowder changing one of the lyrics). You may not have heard some of his other songs though, and you definitely owe it to yourself to check them out.

Anyhow, the music is Christian in theme, and the lyrics are incredibly thoughtful and poetic. For example, in Death in His Grave, McMillan sings

Though the Earth Cried out for blood
Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls of men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

What I love about his music is that it is almost entirely devoid of the cliches one tends to find in modern Christian music. You almost don’t want to describe him as a Christian artist because of what is conveyed when you say that (formulaic song structures, repetitive choruses, cliched lyrics, etc), but he certainly manages to convey the gospel in beautiful and creative ways.

All told, what I love about his music the most is the songwriting, and the honesty that you can feel in his music. There’s pain and longing, but also joy and hope.

Check out some John Mark McMillan below:

Death in His Grave

Skeleton Bones