One of the most ambitious releases of the year must be The Red Letters Project, a sort of Biblical concept album that runs through just about every strain of pop music while recounting – literally – every word spoken by Jesus in the Book of Matthew. Words like “sweeping”, “epic”, and “experience” have been bandied about, and from the sound of the final project the hype is well deserved.

Truthfully, the audio component of this three-disc, forty-song, over three-hour long effort is only part of the story. A fully immersive multi-media touring experience, complete with video presentation and performance art aesthetics is promised.

From the first verse this soundtrack sounds like, well…a soundtrack. The lyrics flow like dialogue, because, of course, they are dialogue. But while the visual component might aid the accessibility, the soundtrack is its own monolith to be sure. The writers, producers and engineers have obviously put all their considerable experience in the industry into this project to it’s full potential.

Musically the sound ranges form modern pop, classic rock, hard rock, balladry and even some experimental spoken-word moments to quiet – singer/songwriter, folky songs. Given the opportunity to sink in, the songs are shockingly catchy and memorable. Falling somewhere between Switchfoot, Pink Floyd, John Cougar Mallencamp and Stone Temple Pilots, The Red Letters Project is extremely well produced, arranged and recorded. If there was a rock record with Sunday morning and Saturday night potential, this is it.

For more information, visit: The Red Letters Project