While country stars have consistently crossed-over to the contemporary Christian music charts with their faith-based albums (recent albums from Diamond Rio and Tracy Lawrence come to mind), there have been few artists to take the opposite route, let alone make a straight up mainstream and contemporary recording that fits both into the CCM market and the mainstream country market like Times Like These, the sophomore album from duo Austins Bridge.  Produced by Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, the album melds the duo’s Christian faith and desire to do music ministry with their desire to make music that can appeal to as many people as possible.

 The album kicks off with “Angels,” one of two songs co-written by Jay DeMarcus and immediately the duo of Justin Rivers and Jason Baird show off their considerable vocal abilities and if I didn’t know it, I’d have sworn this was the latest Rascal Flatts single (with a different lead vocalist) with a bit of those CCM vocal elements thrown in the mix.   In fact, this is a trend that continues throughout the album, from “Mercy Never Leaves” to “Good Time.”

 In between these songs are “There Is A God” and “Quitters.”  Now, fans who like country music outside of the Top 20 will recognize both songs as singles for country artists of the recent past (Trent Willmon and Collin Raye, respectively) and in the case of “There Is A God,” Lee Ann Womack.  Now, While Lee Ann is understated and Trent Willmon was slightly over-vocalized, Austins Bridge is the exact kind of artist that this song was seemingly meant for.   They vocalize the song without over or under doing it and it really fits the pocket of their dynamic harmonies.  “Quitters” was a hit in Canada for one of the song writers, George Canyon and while it didn’t do much but scrape the Top 60 of the charts for Collin Raye, it did get a wonderful video treatment.  Again, while very much a mainstream country song; “Quitters” is an uplifting song that is full of hope and belief, which is exactly the kind of Christian song that many faith-based music fans, like me, prefer.  

“Big Sky” is another Flatts-like track in that it’s filled with faith, hope and love and advice and like “Quitters” it is a subtle message of faith-affirming hope about grabbing life by the reigns and to live each day like nothing can hold you down.  The vocals by Justin and Jason are strong throughout the song and the acoustic breakdown at the end of the song is an unexpected delight.  The title track “Times Like These” is the second of the Jay DeMarcus co-writes (both with Monty Powell) and it is a strong reminder that “the cross, the blood, and the Word are all we need” in today’s fast-paced world and that, if I’m reading this, that we don’t need to go to church everyday to live life the way God would want us to.  It’s very much a CCM-ready song and it reminds me that Jay DeMarcus has never been far from his faith or his roots in CCM.   

Justin Rivers and Jason Baird co-wrote three of the tracks on the record with “Dash Between The Dates”  the first of the three.  Written with Tony Wood and Don Poythress, “Dash” is a song that is a good reminder that those days that record our birth and death are just that.  It’s the life in between  and how it’s lived that are what matters the most.  “Hold On To Jesus” and “Good Time” are the other two tracs co-written by Rivers and Baird and they’re both strong showcases for both their songwriting talent and their vocal abilities. “Good Time,” in particular melds the duo’s faith with country music and the way southern Gospel has the ability to touch the soul in ways even people never knew it could.

Before hearing this album I didn’t even know who Austins Bridge was yet after listening to it I know just who they are now.  Austins Bridge is a duo which wants to spread the message of love through their God-given talent and with the guiding hand of Jay DeMarcus’s own god-given talent, the duo have done just that with Times Like These.  It is a record that will appeal to fans of CCM, mainstream country music and fans of artists like Rascal Flatts, Love and Theft and Danny Gokey.  It also will appeal to fans of CCM stars like Casting Crowns and Matthew West, which means that Times Like These is the exact kind of record for times like these and the fact that good music knows no definition except whether a listener finds it good or bad .

You can support Austins Bridge by purchasing this album digitally at Amazon | iTunes.

You can support Austins Bridge by purchasing the physical album at Amazon.