Review: Derek Webb — Stockholm Syndrome

Derek Webb’s latest album has stirred up as a lot of controversy, primarily due to the presence of one choice four-letter word. Some have accused Webb of invoking the expletive to get attention and make people listen to his album.

If so, fine, because Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome is as challenging and thought provoking as any Christian album in recent memory. It is most definitely an adult album in that it tackles numerous issues that need be discussed with more than talking points, and musically it’s Webb’s most diverse and nuanced effort. The topics, to name a few,  include government, firearms, commercial spirituality, social justice, and homosexuality — specifically, how some Christians treat people who are gay.

The last point is the one attracting all the attention.

The big song in question is What Matters More, in which Webb takes on Christians who protest homosexuality while ignoring world hunger and disease. Toward the end of the song, he sings:

Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a —-
About 50,000 people who are dyin’ today

It’s reminiscent of something evangelist Tony Campolo has said on more than one occasion: “I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a —-. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said —- than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

In both cases, they’re challenging, convicting statements.

It’s something Webb, as a solo artist, has based much of his career on: confronting the conventional notions of conservative, evangelical Christianity.

On Stockholm Syndrome, he does that better than he ever has before.

Freddie, Please takes on Fred Phelps, the Kansas man who has staged protests against homosexuality at Churches and funerals. Webb sings from the perspective of Jesus, asking, “How could you tell me you love me, when you hate me?,” and “Freddie can’t you see, brother, you’re the one who’s queer?”

Webb soft-sells the lyrics in the form of a doo-wop ballad, one of several sonic turns that take Stockholm Syndrome far beyond a singer-songwriter protest album. There’s the swirl of The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum, an indictment of purely emotional, vapid faith, the dancy Jena & Jimmy that’s as seductive as the drunken one-night-stand it describes, and moments the album gears down to a simple tune and a naked voice — which is the extent of the nudity on this album — that stops listeners in their tracks.

Far beyond challenging listeners with his lyrics, Webb challenged himself as a musician.

It is too bad INO Records was reluctant to release this record and actually will not release it in its entirety. The disc, minus What Matters More, comes out in stores Sept. 1. But listeners who pre-order through Webb’s site can get an immediate digital download of the complete album.

If your fingers do the walking, prepare to give the album some time, because once Derek Webb has your attention, he won’t let go.

Note: Derek Webb has two upcoming performances in Kentucky, Louisville Sept. 17 and Lexington’s Dame Oct. 4.