CCM Song Review: Honest, by Chris Llewellyn
- These questions cut deep because when we look inside those darkest corners of our hearts, and see all our failings and misgivings, it’s hard to see how anyone would love us. But God invites us into his grace and mercy.
Chris Llewellyn, founding member of Rend Collective, releases the title track for his upcoming album, Honest. About the upcoming album Llewellyn says, “This album is me reading my diary to you out loud – no filter,” he explains. “It’s full of hope and doubt, hurt feelings and conflict, yet, ultimately, faith.”
The song Honest uses the story in Mark 9:24, where the weeping father of a possessed son falls to his knees and says to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief.” It’s a paradoxical moment of honesty that is born from the love of a father for a son in desperate need of deliverance. The chorus asks, “Will You be faithful when I am faithless? I’m a believer, but I’m gonna need ya to help with my unbelief.” The bridge goes on to ask, “If I come kicking and screaming, Will You turn around and slam the door? Or will you love me even at my darkest?”
These questions cut deep because when we look inside those darkest corners of our hearts, and see all our failings and misgivings, it’s hard to see how anyone would love us. But God invites us into his grace and mercy. Even when we are unmerciful to ourselves, God extends his blessed mercy through grace as an act of overwhelming love despite our moments of unbelief or faithlessness.
Music and Production
The song opens with a picked guitar backed by a gentle pad. The guitar arpeggios are left raw and imperfect. All the partial strikes, inadvertent dampening, and discordant overtones are kept in the performance. Often these ill-perceived imperfections are smoothed over, compressed, and edited out, leaving a track with no heart. But this is where a musician’s musicality and emotions are expressed, not in the perfection, but in the imperfections. So thank you Chris for leading the way on this.
The restrained verse moves into the chorus with a straight four-on-the-floor beat, launching the song forward like a fuse igniting fireworks. Bigger rhythmic effects emphasize the lyric, “Can I be honest, I’ve gotta be honest,” and “Will You be Faithful, When I am faithless.”
Llewellyn does not overdue the backing tracks, giving space in the mix. Since the song comes in at a spritely 142bpm, space is needed to keep the song from getting too dense. Llewellyn pushes and pulls his music back and forth with well-thought-out dynamics. This gives power to portions of the song that emphasize the theme.
The backing vocals stay subdued, often relying on unison and octave harmonies, leaving Llewellyn’s gritty vocals at the forefront. He also leans into the melody, not wandering off with melismas that would distract. This is ideal since the melody is so well-constructed and memorable.
Final Thoughts
I once sat with a family member who had questions about God, Faith, and Grace. His life had been hard, filled with drugs, relationship problems, poverty, and struggle. In the end, he admitted his biggest challenge wasn’t believing that God existed, but that God would love him and give him grace after all he had done. He had a mustard seed of belief but struggled to get past his unbelief. I wish I had this song to play for him as he wrestled with this truth.
God wants our honesty, our entire self, good and bad, damaged and undamaged, our belief and unbelief. Honest is a prayer to help us start that journey.
More
Honest is a prayer for the soul.
Less
We need more songs like this!
Our Latest Devotional Podcast
What's Your Reaction?
