“What Are We Waiting For+” is my all time favorite album. Featuring the most impactful and emotional songs that I’ve heard anywhere else. I mean it, for me this is more than just a great album. It’s a journey through the heart and soul. I decided to go and post my thoughts about every single track on the album.
Track #1 – What Are We waiting For?
This song kicks in the door with its energy. But it’s the message that really sticks with me. I’ve listened to this song so many times, and it powerfully affects every time. The chorus really hits me hard too,
“What are we waiting for, why are we wasting all the time like someone’s making more, what are we praying for, what are we saving for, what if we could be the light that no else could ignore?”
A powerful condemnation of wasting our time on trivial things while at the same time encouraging us all to take action.
Track #2 – RELATE
This is another song that really hits me hard. I was actually listening to this album on my phone while I was doing farm work. Menial stuff, but it affords lots of time to think. When I heard this song it really made me think about the way I see other people and treat them, even if I don’t think it’s such a big deal. The biggest surprise comes towards the end, when they add a twist to the end;
“I think it’s safe to say we’re on to better days, can you relate?”
So while the songs begins as a gentle criticism, it ends with an uplifting encouragement. I should point out Joel and Luke shared that this album was inspired by the events of 2020, which just makes this so much more poignant.
Track #3 – Broken Halos
At this point I’m going to refrain from saying ‘this song hits me so hard emotionally’, because with fourteen more songs to go, it’s going to get old. But this song really does hit me hard. The first time I heard it I actually cried. Seriously. I think that so much of todays music is made u of these cheap, five line pop songs that don’t mean anything. That don’t address anything real. “Broken Halos” goes where so many musicians fear to tread, by addressing perfectionism. When I heard it moved me so much, because I’ve spent so much time trying to figure out how to make peace with my mistakes. It’s just one of those songs you hear and think it was written for you.
Track #4 – Love Me Like I Am
Right after the raw vulnerability of “Broken Halos”, Joel and Luke continue the same themes with this song. They go right into admitting their imperfections, while expressing gratitude and admiration for the love of God. I have to say, I remember going through music in Christian stores years ago and being disappointed at how trite it tended to be. There would be all these happy pop anthems, and I was supposed to sing along about how wonderful and amazing everything was, and how everyday was this beautiful, wonderful, incredible day. So many times I wish songs like this had been recorded earlier.
Track #5 – Unity
This song featured Dante Bowe, from Maverick City Music. Personally I always liked Dante Bowe better when he sings solo, but that’s just an opinion. “Unity” deals with the way we look and treat other people, almost like the second half of RELATE. Dante Bowe utilizes his soulful voice to give the impression of a homeless man. A powerful condemnation of how shortsighted we can be sometimes. (me especially)
Track #6 – For God Is With Us
I feel like 2020 changed me in some ways. I feel like we’re just teetering on the precipice of absolute collapse. Maybe I’m just paranoid about another pandemic or something. This is a song that gently reminds that God is not only in control, but with us. I think I forget that sometimes. So many times it feels like we’re on our own, and I admit it, it’s disheartening. I think we need more reminders like this.
Track #7 – Hold On Pain Ends
Remember when I said that far too much of music today is too shallow? “Hold On Pain Ends” is a prime example of how For King & Country are writing poetry. Just read the opening lyrics;
“She was a daughter and mother of kings, she lost her voice and forgot how to sing, a head full of dreams, and a heart full of light, all disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
Automatically I want to hear the rest. The rest navigates us through the tough parts of life by reminding us that every bad, hurtful thin, will eventually pass. The pain, the hurt, will end.
Track #8 – Unsung Hero
Now this is a truly special song for me. I actually heard this song months before I heard the rest of the album. My father and I had gotten up early, neither one of us really felt like getting up. The thing about being part of a family of entrepreneurs is that we have a lot of early mornings, and late nights. There’s work to be done.
The great thing is that when it’s me and my Dad, we get to experience moments that a re uniquely ours. We talk about stuff, or we say nothing and we just take in the day. Most of the time we listen to music together.
That’s not quite right. Yes we are listening to music, but that doesn’t really capture the moment. What we’re usually doing is sharing music. My Dad shares songs he grew up with. Sometimes he listens to music I told him I liked. Anyway, one morning we both listened to “Unsung Hero” by For King & Country. I was immediately struck by the raw emotion as the Aussie brothers poured out their gratitude to their parents. It made me think about how grateful I was for my Dad. My Mom. My entire family.
“To be strong like my father, even when I am scared, and love like my mother, like there’s nothing to lose.” – For King And Country
Track #9 – Harmony
For me, this is the weakest track on the album. It’s not bad. It comprises about sixty seconds of expressing a desire to sing in harmony. It has a nice sound, but didn’t quite hit me as hard as the rest of the album.
Track #10 – Shy
I thought “Shy” would be a song about social anxiety, but instead this is a song about stepping into what we are meant to be. Instead of living in fear of what the world might do or say, we have to be courageous and take a stand for what we believe, and what we are meant to be. I especially love how they preface the refrain by going, ‘in the name of Love’. If anyone asks why we should take risks, that’s why.
Track #11 – Better Man
I’ve always felt that For King & Country is poetry set to music. You could honestly just read the lyrics and it would still be affecting. “Better Man” is a song that hits me hard every time I hear it. Joel and Jonathan shared that they felt this is one of the more “honest” moments from the album. When I heard it I found it to be moving and convicting. Even though the song is from the perspective of a husband talking to his wife, every time I hear it, it makes me think of my relationship to everyone around me.
On a minor note, I think this is the great thing about art. Sometimes we can hear a song, read a book, and in a sense it becomes ours. Even though this is a song written about a husband and wife, it is still just as meaningful to me.
Track #12 – Together
Joel and Luke really love to collaborate and “Together” is quite possibly the best collaboration song I’ve ever heard. Tori Kelly steps in with her passionate voice, and she’s great, as always. Kirk Franklin steps in at the end to deliver a powerful punch. “Together” is anthematic as well as poetic. Any time we try to talk about togetherness, it pretty much always disintegrates into meaningless babble, as people start spouting off ridiculous mantras. “Together” is a song that reminds us all that in the face of all this societal upheaval we’re facing, and the constant infighting, we are supposed to stand together in good times and bad.
Track #13 – Seasons
Every For King & Country album features a song written for their wives. Usually love songs tend to annoy me, but “Seasons” is an exception.
“I love it how we dance through the fire, I love it how we sing in the rain, as long as I’m breathing, I’ll be yours through the seasons.”
It’s more than just a beautiful song, it’s a perfect expression of what a loving relationship looks like.
Track #14 – Cheering You On
Luke shared that this song was inspired by conversations he had with his seven year old son. It’s still affecting for the rest of us. It makes me think of the conversations I’ve had with my Dad. It also reminds me of the man I strive to be every day.
Track #15 – Benediction
How do you close this masterpiece of sound and poetic lyrics? With a quit, organ driven track like this one. Here the band contrast their life, with the life of Christ. Throughout the song, they reflect on how if Christ loved and sacrificed, then so can we. So should we. A graceful and poignant end to the best album ever recorded.
