Our curator team returns with some recommendations that will definitely enrich your listening and lives. Here are more brand-new releases this time on our April 2023 list. We encourage you to add your own suggestions in the comments. Music you want to submit for consideration can be sent to utrsubmissions@gmail.com.

ALBUMS & EPs

Worship for Workers – The Porter’s Gate

Featuring incredible arrangments and an all-star cast including Jon Guerra, Sandra McCracken, Paul Zach, Jessica Fox, Taylor Leonhardt, and more, this album is a soothing balm of encouragement for those of us who know the struggle of daily toil. Well worth repeated listening. [SPOTIFY LINK]

Grim Age – The Classic Crime

One part emo, one part screamo and three parts rich, textured, alternative goodness. Get past the first shock rock song and find songs intentional on exploring the depth of the human condition. Steeped in brutally honest lyrics this album gets better with each listen.   [SPOTIFY LINK]

Joy Alchemy – Tow’rs

A superb folk offering that will fill you with the joy of a warm summer day. The duo’s voices are like many instruments as the carefully curated instrumental, delicately leads us through conflict, depression, heartache, and hope. [SPOTIFY LINK]

All Yours, Baby – Kylie Dailey

Kylie’s beautiful smooth vocals are perfect as she considers many different phases of personal relationships in this brilliantly written and produced EP. Listen carefully to completely benefit from the insightful songs and lyrics so masterfully crafted. [SPOTIFY LINK]

Levees – Mandi Mapes

Singer-songwriter Mandi Mapes’ songs drip with honest reflections and superbly crafted lyrics carried by a sparse wall of sound. She could remind you of other gourmet artists but let her uniqueness stand on its own. Sink into a comfy chair with a mug of coffee, and hang out with these songs like good friends. [SPOTIFY LINK]

Conversations – Grace Graber

Melding pop with punk and synth elements, Grace Graber’s debut explores mental illness, authenticity, and self-worth. Add in a duet with Jason Dunn, formerly of Hawk Nelson, and this EP defines Graber as one of the most exciting and untapped Christian music artists today. [SPOTIFY LINK]

Dear Prodigal – Jeremi Licata

Jeremi’s debut studio album is full of joyful songs of salvation, restoration, and transformation. A wonderful introduction to this South Florida-based singer-songwriter.  [SPOTIFY LINK]

SINGLES

“Dopamine” – The Arcadian Wild

Good news!  The Arcadian Wild is working on a new album (arriving in June).  This first single is musically layered, vocally brilliant, and a poignant reminder that if we become too addictive to our screens, we might “forget that we’re alive.”  [SPOTIFY LINK]

“Only Side I Take” – Ross King

Ross King reminds us about what’s really important and where our true allegiance needs to be. And, as always, he does it with some great music! [SPOTIFY LINK]

“Why Do Good Times Fly?” – Tina Boonstra

A new single by the English artist who was the critic’s choice for best gourmet album of 2021. Haunting, beautiful, self-reflective, and honest, this song invites us to hold on to the good of our lives even when difficulties are the current reality. [SPOTIFY LINK]

“No More Wasted Years” – Common Hymnal

One of the songwriters wrote about this song: “When the king comes, chains break, aching wounds become faded scars, and hope begins to breathe again. Here’s to the end of the wasted years.” (Jo Saxton) [SPOTIFY LINK]

“We Can Fight It” – The River Indigo

Seth and Jenna Herlich deliver a folky and angst-ridden ballad, masterfully using the timbre of their voices and production to explore the dynamics of struggle and community. [SPOTIFY LINK]

“Pride Was All I Lost” – Nicholas D’Andrea

Put a rock-n-roll voice on an otherwise folk/pop-sounding song and you’ll understand why I was immediately captured by Nicholas’ latest single & have fallen down the rabbit hole of his earlier work. [SPOTIFY LINK]