#peopled

This is called “A World Not Peopled.” Prom night is every night. 

Let me tell you why I like Peopled with Dreams, but first let me copy and paste how John Mark McMillan announced its release on his Facebook page. ““Peopled with Dreams”, my hot-mess-of-an-existential-pop-record and 8th original studio album is officially in the world today. It’s a journey back into faith. It’s a collection of songs about joy, gratitude, and God in an attempt to honestly consider our place among the cosmos.” Why do I like it? Because it really is everything he says here. 

As I listened to this album on repeat (during a pointless two-and-a-half-hour round trip drive which had nothing to do with the album or this review) I realised that despite all the questions these songs left me happy and hopeful. Other artists might tread a similar path and sound jaded but this was joyful. The iTunes store has the album labelled under ‘singer/songwriter > alternative folk’ but it is a pop record. The production is slick and it sounds fantastic. This certainly contributes to it being a joyful noise. But it’s deeper than that. 

I’ll leave you to go and try and wrap your head around tracks like Cousin John or Bright Abyss on your own. But I can’t let you go without talking about The Road, The Rocks, and The Weeds. It deserves a prize for how much thought it packs into just over three and a half minutes. This is good…

“And what to tell my daughter When she asks so many questions And I fail to fill her heaviness with peace When I've got no answers For hurt knees or cancers But a Saviour who suffers them with me”

But this is what really sold it to me…

“So shall I plant sequoias And revel in the soil Of a crop I know I'll never live to reap? Then sow my body to my Maker And my heart unto my Saviour And spread me on the road, the rocks, and the weeds”

There’s something about the perspective in this picture that got me. Yes, these are songs to enjoy but, if you let them, these are songs that will get you thinking and maybe even change your outlook on life. And who doesn’t need a bit of that?! So let me recommend you my top three tracks from Peopled With Dreams.

Pilgrim

The Road, The Rocks, and The Weeds

Everything New

As I quoted Mark as saying, Peopled With Dreams is his eighth original studio album, so if you like this he has an extensive back catalogue you can dig into. 

Check out these lovely links:

facebook.com/JohnMarkMcMillan

twitter.com/johnmarkmc

youtube.com/johnmarkofficial

grong sa - village, peopled area [RY]

chags tshul - manner of being produced, peopled [JV]

dben pa - remote, an unpeopled area, isolated, free from, secluded place, solitary, lonely, solitude, loneliness, seclusion, remote, void, like an unpopulated mountain or valley, devoid, without, empty {chos mnyam pa nyid bcu}; {dben pa, dben pa, dben pa} intr. v.; solitude; solitary; far/ distant/ removed from [RY]

dben pa - 1) (Tha mi dad pa), w/o, empty of, free from, [de]void; 2) solitary and quiet/ secluded [place], unpeopled/ unpopulated area/ mt/ valley; 4) 'phri rtsis; 5) solitude, loneliness, seclusion, lonely, isolated, remote {chos mnyam pa nyid bcu} [IW]

dben pa - 1) (Tha mi dad pa, w/o, empty of, free from, [de]void; 2) solitary and quiet/ secluded [place], unpeopled/ unpopulated area/ mt/ valley; 4) 'phri rtsis; 5) solitude, loneliness, seclusion, lonely, isolated, remote [IW]

mi med - unpeopled, wilderness, wood, forests [JV]

mi med - unpeopled, away from people, secluded [RY]

mi med - unpeopled, away from people, secluded wilderness [IW]

mi med lung stong - unpeopled empty valley/ place, wilderness [IW]