Space in Between Us: Expanded Edition

Building 429 hit the Christian music charts forcefully in 2004 with the Glory Defined EP and the subsequent Space In Between Us full-length release. And unless you lived in a cave, you no doubt heard "Glory Defined" a million times on radio as the arena rock style of the band left its strong first impression. But one listen to "Free" from the EP and one has a sense of where Building 429 could have gone with its hard-charging, power chord attack. With strong lyrics and an impressive wall-of-guitars sound from lead man Jason Roy, Paul Bowden, and Jesse Garcia, the track is the best this expanded edition has to offer. Sonic cousin "One Time Too Many" shows a rare grit and is one of the release's most adventurous numbers. "Never Look Away", co-written by Roy and worship artist Jason Ingram, and "Shadows of Angels" are the other worthy highlights that will reasonate with listeners. Otherwise, the brand of rock served up is all too predictable and uninspiring, drawing obvious comparisons to Creed, Jeremy Camp, and Kutless. Whether the band plays it safe next time or reaches out for more creativity should determine its shelf life among a developing and growing number of Christian formulaic rock bands. –- Michael Lyttle