- Those Words Are Not Enough—Relient K
- Everything You Ever Wanted—Hawk Nelson
- Eloquent—Sanctus Real
- Now Is the Time—Delirious
- All I Want—Future of Forestry
- One Thousand Apologies—Demon Hunter
- Contrast—Falling Up
- Obsession—Starfield
- Our Happy Home—David Crowder Band
- Promise of a Lifetime—Kutless
- Oceans from the Rain—Seventh Day Slumber
- Cloud Cover (#2)—This Beautiful Republic
- I Believe in You—The Fold
- Obsession—Edison Glass
- First Steps to Recovery—Chasing Victory
- To Whom It May Concern—Underoath
Considering that the X series has been around since 2003, it's easy to lose sight that this is only the second installment in the brand's worshipful offshoot. Is it merely another compilation meant to introduce new artists to consumers, or is it proof that worship transcends genres and labels?
It's a little of both with X Worship 2007, which does feature many of the best that Christian rock has to offer. Whether your tastes gravitate to punk, modern rock, emo, Brit pop, hardcore, or power ballads, you'll find at least one track to appreciate here. The album doesn't have a lot to offer in the way of new tracks, other than introductions of the promising bands Future of Forestry and This Beautiful Republic, and a disappointingly clunky unreleased cover of Delirious' "Obsession" by Edison Glass. It's particularly odd that Relient K and Seventh Day Slumber are represented by older tracks rather than samples from their soon-to-be-released projects.
This is also an album that will challenge your definition of worship music. True, worship is more than style or even music, but worship music itself carries a certain connotation. Don't go into this collection expecting praise choruses for the church. Tracks by Delirious, David Crowder Band, Future of Forestry, Starfield, and even Demon Hunter certainly qualify. But others are more questionable, such as Sanctus Real's response to God's grace, Chasing Victory's words of encouragement, Hawk Nelson's vaguely worded relationship song, and Underoath's impressive "pressing on" finale.
My point is not whether these songs can be interpreted as worship, but rather what makes them any more worshipful than, well, 95 percent of Christian rock. It seems more an attempt to stretch the definition of worship music in order to justify another album. Still, original songs like these at least help us consider what it means to worship, and are more interesting than another album of rehashed covers from the CCLI 500. Whatever this album's purpose, its contents are still good.