"Listen!" (The Cymbal Crashing Clouds)

Andrew Peterson on Ben Shive's new album The Cymbal Crashing Clouds:

These songs are quirky, brilliant, poetic, and joyful—and the lyrics are smack-your-forehead good. I'm being serious when I say that I don't know of any songwriter on earth who could make an album like this—one with pop hooks, chamber strings, great sounds, intricate poetry, and on top of that, Scriptural allusions galore. As the proprietor of this establishment, I implore you to download this record (or pre-order the disc) and listen to it eighteen times in a row, as I did when I first heard it. Then sit back and thank God that there are true believers in the world who are using their gifts for the glory of the Giver.

When I introduce Ben at concerts I usually say that he's a great poet and that he knows the Bible better than most people I know. Well, as you're about to see, he's also a great writer.

You can listen to a song—and an explanation about the writing behind it—here.