by Jared Johnson
Catching the attention of Third Day's Mac Powell was this Aussie band's hot ticket to breaking through in the US. After releasing three albums down under, Revive landed an opening slot for TD in 2007. Powell and his bandmates were impressed and asked to hear more, so Revive spent the next several months crafting new songs. This led to more tours with Third Day in the spring and fall of 2008, and the work slowly evolved into the band's stateside debut, Chorus of the Saints, which was released in March 2009. Whether it was their working relationship with Powell, lead vocalist Dan Hanbury's impressive writing chops, or simply that intangible thing called momentum, everything fell into place for a breakthrough. And the result is one heck of a breakthrough, indeed! This album does everything right. It cranks up the volume in all the right places and slows things down just at the moments when you're ready for a reprieve. Revive's peppy blend of pop and rock is far from the tiresome one-dimensional rock that dominated the radio waves. The title track's gritty rock riff kicks off the album with unrelenting energy. The harmonies on "Power" make those little hairs on the back of your head stand up straight. "Sit with Me" is the album's hidden gem with its consuming, bluesy hook. The group's name comes from a phrase in Psalm 85 that says, "He will revive their hearts." Not only does this album do that, but it rekindles the art of crafting elegant, hopeful rock songs.