Rend Collective Experiment: The shape of things to come

The Rend Collective Experiment had a good night on Saturday 16 January. A very good night. This was not just another album launch in front of a capacity crowd. This was something extra. Something bold. Something entirely different.

The album in question – their debut, out now on Survivor Records – is the original Organic Family Hymnal. Five hundred people turned up to celebrate its launch, five hundred people who can now count themselves as part of the collective.

Rend are something fresh. The sound’s different – drawing on the influence of indie giants like Sufjan Stevens and Sigur Ros, bringing out a full brass section and amping up the sound and visuals with all the power of Arcade Fire – but it’s the heart that’s unique as well. With thirteen of the collective on stage on Saturday the family was in full force, tearing down the scaffolding that says that worship can only ever be consumed or observed.

As for the immediate fallout, their Facebook page is positively on fire with excited feedback, and their A&R guy seems happy enough:

"This was an amazing and unique night where God was honoured with creativity and community. To have been part of the audience on Saturday night was to have witnessed the birth of something really fresh, inspiring and deeply worshipful. People will look back on this night as one of those special moments to have witnessed," said Adrian Thompson, Survivor Records.

Blogging at www.plastichalos.wordpress.com, one member of the audience – Mark Case – commented on the end: a no fuss affair without an encore but with the sense of significance heavy in the air:

"As we all shuffled out onto the wet January streets of our troubled little town, I did feel that I had experienced something very special, and hopefully, we’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more of this strange little (big, actually) band and their antidote / alternative sound."