REVIEW of North Point InsideOut: Nothing Ordinary, Pt. 1 (Live) - EP

I always love to see a new project come out of North Point as they consistently bring fresh material to the table that is very accessible and effective for congregational worship. InsideOut is the band from North Point's student ministry and their "No One Higher" album is one of my all-time favorite worship albums! Now, they've released a LIVE "Nothing Ordinary" EP, which is labeled as "Pt. 1". It contains 5 songs, so hopefully Pt. 2 isn't something we have to wait too long for!

This new EP starts with a dance party type of feel then breaks into "We Are Royals", lead by Chris Cauley. This is a live version of the same titled track from the recent "Nothing Ordinary" studio EP. The "Nothing Ordinary" EP title comes from the lyrics of this opening track. Half-way through the song is a rap breakdown with Joseph Sojourner. While this track is great to listen to, and was likely a fun and energetic opening to the live concert, this is not one that you'll likely bust out on a Sunday morning in your church. It may see a little more activity in youth worship services.

Seth Condrey leads 3 of the remaining 4 songs. The next is "Holy", which is one of their new songs and is very congregational. It's a mid-tempo song, which North Point seems to write a lot of... and which seems to be their most effective and popular song types. This song effectively has you singing "holy holy" along with the rest of creation. It also pulls in the lyrics of the well-known "Doxology" hymn as part of the song's bridge, which brings that little bit of old into the new, making it that much easier for your congregation to quickly grab on to this new song.

Condrey continues with "I Fall", which is a great new song of surrender. It is very anthem-like as you get to the chorus, as you find yourself crying out to God for His mercy and help, surrendering yourself to Him. The bridge of this song, similar to the previous track, pulls lyrics from a well-known hymn. This time, of course, from "I Surrender All". The music remains new, maintaining the feel and melodies of the rest of the song, but borrows from the old familiar lyrics.

InsideOut brings a new recording next of Brett Stanfill's "Sons And Daughters", which was previously recorded by Stanfill on InsideOut's "Hear" album. This time, it is female-lead by Emily Harrison. This of course puts the song in a different key than the previously recorded version. This track is acoustic lead and very worshipful. It tells of how we are the sons and daughters of God and that He is always with us.

The fifth and final track on this EP is a new LIVE recording of the very popular song "Death Was Arrested". Seth Condrey steps back in to lead this song, but do not dismiss this track as you've already heard a couple other previous InsideOut releases of this song. The band tweaked it a bit from the previously recorded versions, so it gives the song a fresh sound and feel... and ends the EP on a very powerful note!

Overall, this is a great live worship album and well worth checking out! You won't come away with anything but medium to slow tempo songs for your church, but hopefully part 2 of this live project will make up for that on the faster end of the spectrum. In the meantime, there are definitely some great new worshipful tunes to add to the mix!