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Billboard
Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max (formerly Kevin Smith) have once again crafted a brilliantly textured modern rock album that covers a wide musical landscape, from the exuberant pop of "Wanna Be Loved" to the brooding, moody-sounding title cut, which addresses the supernatural characteristics of God's love. In nearly 10 years together, the trio has evolved from a rap/rock/soul ensemble into a more cohesive, modern pop/rock unit. Lyrically, the group members still wrestle with issues that spring from living out their Christian faith in a complicated world. Whereas on previous albums McKeehan handled most of the songwriting responsibilities, this marks the first time the members of dc Talk have collaborated on every song. Prime cuts include the gorgeous ballad "Consume Me," "Godsend," "Red Letters," and the quirky first single, "My Friend (So Long)." Not quite the artistic leap that 1995's "Jesus Freak" was, but still a commendable effort that should sell briskly.
Rolling Stone
(3 Stars Out Of 5): Platinum Christians dc Talk don't talk much on their new record. They once titled a video compilation Rap, Rock and Soul, but Supernatural is entirely rapless. It's also not quite as funny as dc Talk's 1995 album, Jesus Freak, on which the trio covered a Godspell oldie and chattered Faith No More-style about their best friend being born in a manger. But God is still on their side : Supernatural is a likably earnest pile of heavenly jazz percussion, pogoable Green Day-like drum rolls and Nirvana-esque power chords; nods to rock royalty from Queen to Prince to the late-Eighties theology-metal band King's X; and lyrics that, in the immortal tradition of Amy Grant, can be read as both sacred and secular. If the sweet Raspberries-style harmonies and tongue-in-cheek chiding of a fallen soul in "My Friend (So Long)" don't make these missionaries a few converts, then the rebel yelling at hymn's end should. Chuck Eddy, Rolling Stone
USA Today
(2.5 Stars Out Of Four): Few rock acts who've probed the mysteries of Christianity have been so literal-minded as dc Talk, a biracial trio whose platinum-selling 1995 album Jesus Freak took them out of the Christian-music ghetto. Supernatural should continue the eclectic group's move to the mainstream, with its dabblings in modern rock on It's Killing Me, old-school soul on Wanna Be Loved and, on Since I Met You, rich-harmonied ska-punk. Longtime Christian fans will recognize My Friend So Long for the clever inside joke that it is; tunes based on The X-Files and the red type in certain Bible editions, however, are less inspired. Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY
Release
Ever since their creative breakthrough with Free At Last, it's been one pop triumph after another for dc Talk. With each step--records, videos, multimedia, live shows--Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait and Kevin Max have consistently stretched into new and different artistic areas.
While Free At Last and Jesus Freak were great pop records, the three wore their influences a little heavily on their sleeves at times. With Supernatural, their first studio album since signing with Virgin Records in the general market (they retain ForeFront as their label for the Christian market), the members of dc Talk have found themselves.
Some fans will miss the chainsaw guitars of "Jesus Freak," others the hyper-articulate rapping of "That Kinda Girl." Supernatural has less of the first and none of the latter. What you do find on Supernatural are triple-threat alternating lead vocals, flowing harmonies, singable melodies--riding that dynamic between smooth, moody breakdowns and turbo-charged rock 'n' roll. And great songs, largely written by the three and longtime collaborator Mark Heimermann.
Some might assume dc Talk's growing presence in the general market would cow them into hiding their spiritual heritage. Quite the contrary, much of Supernatural revolves around the line between the temporal and the eternal, and the choices we have to make as we live in the world but not of it.
They defiantly kick off with "It's Killing Me," which builds from brooding, angular acoustic guitars into a powerhouse chorus, as the character determines he must part ways with a dear friend. Coming from the other angle, "My Friend (So Long)" is about allowing that outside influence to lead you astray. The central message of both songs--the spiritual dangers of hanging out with people who believe differently than you--is not only something general market listeners will have difficulty relating to--I wonder if many of them will even understand the concept.
Other songs are simple but effective odes to how much we have in common, regardless of background or social standing. Especially powerful is "Dive," where a man considers his office impenetrable, until a 15th floor fire forces him to dive into the safety of the fireman's net. There are also several songs about love, both spiritual ("You Consume Me") and romantic ("Godsend"). The moody, X-Files-influenced pop gem "The Truth" suggests to the post-modern person that there are forces beyond the physical realm.
Everything on the record points to the stunning one-two of "Supernatural" and "Red Letters." The former punches off with an ominously thudding bass line, as they recall the very uncertainties they've been singing about--This world's a tortured place to be/ So many things to torment me ... No human hand can pull me through/ No cosmic force or magic brew will do--moving toward the thunderous rock anthem: God is there and He is watching/ He tells me all is well. They then zero in on "Red Letters," which points to a specific God, and not some random force of nature. Filled with mystique, it builds to an epic, dramatic wall of vocals, charged with a cinematic string section.
Supernatural ends with a coda, the mysterious, almost spooky "There Is A Treason At Sea." A poem voiced over the sound of synth and lapping water, we are reminded that, in the end, we are alone in the world if we are without God.
At the very end, an electronic wave passes--the musical whisper, "supernatural." As water and whisper fade, the listener is left with deep thoughts of this big world--and an even bigger God--and the question of our place in it. Christians and non-Christians alike will be moved to ponder what they believe and why. He who has ears, let him hear. And rock. --Chris Well
Amazon.com
How did DC Talk follow up their epic Jesus Freak? Very carefully, if Supernatural is any indication. Where Jesus Freak broke through musical barriers in a genre known for playing it safe, Supernatural builds on the band's momentum with a familiar blend of power pop, beautiful ballads, and power-chord rockers. The opening "It's Killing Me" lays down a riveting foundation, while Toby McKeehan has never sounded more like Seal than on the soft ballads "Consume Me" and "Godsend." But McKeehan (who coproduces) also turns it around by belting out the R&B-tinged "Wanna Be Loved." Not to be outdone, Michael Tait, Kevin Max, and McKeehan team up wonderfully on the radio-ready "Into Jesus." Once again, producer Mark Heimermann blends fascinating vocal arrangements into DC Talk's magical wall of sound. --Michael Lyttle
CD Now
30-plus years after John Lennon proclaimed the Beatles more popular than Jesus, a generation of musicians who weren't even born at the time bring the Man Upstairs back into the conscience of the worlds' youth. DC Talk began life as a group of college friends rappin' for Jesus and developed into one of the '90s' most successful Christian rock groups. On SUPERNATURAL, they continue to expand their sound and spread their love of Jesus across the world. Mixing rock, R&B, funk, solid songcraft and a slick production typical of more secular pop vocal groups, dc Talk brings new meaning and respect to the phrase "Jesus freak."
Those who want a positive message in their music but are put off by overly preachy lyrics will be impressed and pleasantly surprised by dc Talk. On first listen, the uninitiated might think this was a collection of love songs to a wife or girlfriend rather than odes to the creator. But delving deeper you discover that they are sincere in their beliefs. And rather than set out to convert the faithless, they hope that their music and conviction will be what leads others to discover their own spirituality.
Entertainment Tonight
Even before releasing their album "Supernatural," DC TALK had emerged as leaders in the pursuit of melding rock 'n' roll with provocative questions of faith and conscience.
Although various rock predecessors have examined spiritual issues - U2, VAN MORRISON, and BOB DYLAN immediately come to mind - dc Talk has taken the notion to new lengths, both in commercial terms and in depth of artistic exploration. Three Grammy Awards, two platinum albums, one gold album and two gold-certified long-form videos, attest to the group's ability to bridge the gap between religious and secular audiences.
Now "Supernatural" threatens to demolish the barrier completely. For behind its exquisite, edgy sonic assault lies an album's worth of themes that spread beyond the confines of a genre. "We're very open about our Christian faith," says TOBY MCKEEHAN, "but when we make our records we want to create a musical experience that anyone can immerse themselves in. One of our goals is to encourage listeners to question themselves and to seek out truth."
With that in mind, McKeehan and his dc Talk partners - MICHAEL TAIT and KEVIN MAX - unleash their fifth album, the follow up to their platinum-plus 1995 breakthrough "Jesus Freak." Introducing "Supernatural" on an upbeat note, the debut single/video, "My Friend (So Long)," takes a scathingly witty look at a painful topic: "It's about relationships that have gone awry," notes McKeehan. "After walking through difficult times with a person, you sometimes have to pull away because you can't go where they're traveling in life. Several of our songs touch on that theme - of growing, maturing, and how that affects the inner workings of a relationship."
The smoldering, provocative track "Consume Me" examines an entirely different type of relationship by expressing spiritual devotion in astonishingly intimate terms. "We view our relationship with God as very personal," says McKeehan, and some people might get upset because the relationship in "Consume Me" is so passionate and real, rather than ritualistic. We wrote this as a spiritual song because to us, faith is a passionate, committed love relationship."
"Supernatural" also rocks with total abandonment. Brawny guitars and aggressive grooves punctuate most of the album's II tracks, especially "Fearless," "Dive," "Killing Me," and the album's foreboding, ambitious title song "Supernatural." Elsewhere, dc Talk manages to get funked up ("Wanna Be Loved"), freaked out ("The Truth"), and outright funny (aforementioned single "My Friend (So Long)"). The unabashed pop sonics of "Since I Met You" and "Godsend" emphasize a fundamental point: dc Talk is willing to let their music speak for itself, without regard for pigeonholes.
"Yeah, part of us is message oriented; another part is entertainment driven" says Kevin Max. "I'd like the music to make an impact on as many levels as possible," admits Michael Tait; "If that sounds like a lofty, ambitious goal, that's okay. If one person likes the way it sounds, and another likes what the lyrics are saying, both are valid and both are important."
Produced by McKeehan and MARK HEIMERMANN, "Supernatural," as was dc Talk's most recent album, "Jesus Freak," was recorded over the period of one year in the group's Nashville home base. The vocal styling of the trio's earlier work has blossomed and expanded into a multi-textural tapestry of sound, as vocals and instruments interweave with a wide range of stylistic influences. "This is the first record we've ever written together," explains Tait, "and it's more of a collective vision than ever before." "I think we found our voice as a group," nods Max; "It's as if we're speaking as one, and the added input gives the album a broader, more diverse scope."
Viewed in this context, the maturity and sophistication of "Supernatural" reflects the latest stage in an ongoing growth process which began when the three members first met in the mid-1980s while attending college in Virginia. They formed dc Talk in 1989, choosing the band name as a reference to McKeehan and Tait's hometown, Washington, DC. After relocating to Nashville, the group released a series of increasingly ambitious - and successful - albums, beginning with their self-titled 1989 debut; followed by their gold-certified 1990 sophomore album "Nu Thang," the platinum-certified 1992 opus, "Free At Last," and 1995's "Jesus Freak," a platinum-plus watershed which showed the group attaining more mainstream success than ever before.
In addition to their recordings, live performance is a crucial part of the dc Talk story, and the group's fiery on-stage delivery has earned respect from virtually all quarters. "Live music is what being a musician is all about," says Max; "When you perform a song live, that's when you really begin to understand what the song's about." Tait adds "when you yourself are having as much fun - if not more - than the audience, that's the essence of a live show."
Whether forging strong bonds with concert audiences, or expressing their thoughts in the recording studio, dc Talk strives to treat their listeners as equals, rather than receptors. "The last thing we want to do is sound preachy," says McKeehan. "We want to make music that encourages people to think about spiritual issues and truth." "I think it's an innate human characteristic to want to find truth and meaning in life," says Max. "It's a hunger that we all share, just as we share the idea of caring and conscience."
With "Supernatural," dc Talk once again encourages listeners to set out on their own journey of discovery.