Shadow Weaver

Still sailing on waves of dreamy guitar feedback after 30 years, The Choir reach a career highpoint with Shadow Weaver. Founding members Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong have matured with exceptional grace over the decades, drawing on their life experiences to create music that embodies a thoughtful brand of Christian faith. Their latest work revels in thick sonic washes and pastel tones that underscore the fine details of Hindalong’s lyrics. Tim Chandler’s propulsive bass and Dan Michaels’ echoing horns add energy and definition to the ambient textures of the tracks. Framed by two variations on the album’s brooding title tune, Shadow Weaver offers glimpses of the sacred with a refreshing lack of preachiness. The ominous insinuations of “What You Think I Am” and “White Knuckles” contrast with the compassionate portraiture of “We All Know” and the inclusive vision of “Everybody’s Got a Guru.” Expansive meditations like “The Soul of Every Creature Cries Out” find balance in small-scale spiritual vignettes like “The Antithesis of Blue.” Dougherty’s angelic lead vocals are at once otherworldly and deeply human. If Shadow Weaver leans toward the melancholic, it’s a beautiful sadness that can melt the hardest heart.