Seph Schlueter and the Case for a Plain Idea

The most common failure in contemporary Christian songwriting is over-elaboration: a simple idea buried under three metaphors and a key change.

Schlueter's best-known record does the opposite. One device, held, with the arrangement supplying momentum instead of complication.

Adjacent, not identical

He sits near Forrest Frank in distribution instinct and near Josiah Queen in vocabulary, but the writing is plainer than either. Whether that becomes a catalogue or a single moment is the open question.