Page CXVI will always hold a special place in my heart.
The band was introduced to me during one of the lowest points of my life. At the time, I had deliberately stepped away from nearly all media that did not have theology proper, the study of God himself, at its center. That included music I worked with professionally and even music I had personally created.
It was the right decision for that season, but it often left me artistically malnourished. I needed substance, but I still missed beauty. Too often, it seemed as though I had to choose between the two.
Then a dear friend, Odd Thomas of Beautiful Eulogy and Humble Beast, told me about a Colorado band he and his wife, Heather, had been listening to. Page CXVI was making old hymns feel newly alive without sanding away their theological weight or treating them like museum pieces.
I was immediately hooked.
The music nourished me spiritually and artistically at a time when I badly needed both. Page CXVI did not merely place modern production behind familiar lyrics. The band approached the hymns as living songs, preserving their substance while finding new emotional and musical language for them.
I called that period one of the lowest points of my life, and in many ways it was. Looking back, however, it was also one of the best. I was walking through some incredibly difficult things, but God was deeply personal and gracious throughout them. It felt as though the Creator of the universe had reached into my life and either begun the work of sanctification for the first time or kicked it into overdrive.
That is probably more personal history than you expected when you clicked on an album stream. You came to hear Page CXVI’s new record, Lent to Maundy Thursday, and that is exactly what we have.
The seven-song album continues the band’s work of recovering hymns and sacred songs through atmospheric rock, folk and electronic textures. Its title places the collection within the movement of the Christian calendar toward the Last Supper and the final days before Easter, giving these old songs a particular sense of reflection, mortality and anticipation.
Lent to Maundy Thursday will be released March 4, but you can listen to the entire album below before it arrives.
If the music connects with you, share this page with a friend or 10. More importantly, support the artists by purchasing the album when it is released through PageCXVI.com or your preferred digital music service.
Listen to Lent to Maundy Thursday in full below.