The newest band out of Mars Hill Church – THE DISPATCH – have just launched their self-titled EP. I received a copy a week ago and have had it on repeat for the whole week! Mars Hill bands continue to produce solid new songs and contemporary arrangements of older songs. THE DISPATCH has two originals and two fresh arrangements.
Here’s my brief run down of the tracks…
- Track 1 – The Word – straight up, all about Jesus. Lyrics from the prologue of John’s Gospel.
- Track 2 – By His Grace – epic themes of being saved by God through grace, faith and Christ from the book of Ephesians.
- Track 3 – The Solid Rock – Edward Mote’s My Hope is Built is a classic hymn and this is a good version. Good beat and much more singable than one that has been sung in Sydney for the last 20 years.
- Track 4 – How Deep the Father’s Love – this modern day hymn from Getty & Townend is an amazing song that will be sung for many years to come! So it’s worth having new arrangements. This is probably my favourite version of the song and also my favourite track on the EP. It is very folky, driven by quality picking on the acoustic guitar. The female voice and the slightly faster tempo make it a beautiful rendition.
We do lots of Mars Hill arrangements in our church and youth community. I can see all of these songs getting a run in the future. Highly recommend.
Go download the EP now. It’s only $4!!
See the band bio below…
Hailing from Mars Hill Sammamish, The Dispatch is the newest band to emerge onto the Mars Hill Music scene. This guitar-driven, feel-good indie rock quartet strives to balance theologically strong lyrics with catchy melodies that the congregation can follow.
Nick Lathe (leader/guitar), Jessica Lathe (vocals), Howard Dierking (drums), and Mark White (bass) came together to form the group in August 2012 out of a desire to lead their local congregation in worship. Nick began playing guitar at 11 and felt the call to lead worship at his local church in college. He says, “It’s by God’s grace I’ve been able to continue doing it, and I really can’t see myself doing anything else.”
Their desire is to see people giving all glory to God, and one of their favorite things is a roomfull of people excited to praise Jesus. By God’s grace, they hope the songs they write will serve Mars Hill churches as well as other churches around the world.
Check out Mars Hill Music website – download The Dispatch EP from here.