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Cotes d' Armor

Kevin Max

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iTunes Review

Cotes d’Armor combines remixes from Former DC Talk member Kevin Max's Crashing Gates EP with newly-recorded material. Since launching his solo career, this gifted singer/songwriter has refused to play it safe — here, he again challenges his fans to reconsider what Christian pop/rock might be. Max adds fresh sonic colors to such Crashing Gates cuts as “Saints of Lonely Hearts” and “Future Love Songs” and punches up his signature tune "Your Beautiful Mind." The new tunes are the real points of interest, though. “Walking Through Walls (Just to Get to You)” and “Even When It Hurts” fuse ‘70s-era glam rock with ‘80s-era techno-pop, interweaving robotic beats with synthesizer flourishes and distorted vocals. “On Yer Bike!” is a particularly bracing tune with its jittery rhythms and ultra-catchy chorus. In the midst of these glossy, discordant sounds, Max portrays lost souls looking for glimpses of salvation amidst the chaos of modern life. Cotes d’Armor is another bold step into a musical zone uniquely Max's own.

Customer Reviews

A Flying Leap

Within the context of the catalog of work involving Kevin Max, from dc Talk on, Cotes d' Armor conjures up the image of a summer blockbuster action hero calmly lighting a cigarette while the scene in the background explodes in a gasoline hellfire blaze. The palpable hints of Depeche Mode's VIOLATOR, Nine Inch Nail's PRETTY HATE MACHINE, and Moby's ANIMAL RIGHTS, combined with Max's unique knack for mixing colors has yielded a tour de force of a concept album that will hold its own against the test of time. While this will not be mistaken for anything remotely close to the products most recently put out by his former cohorts TobyMac and Michael Tait (Newsboys) it should be said that Cotes d' Armor is the one product that is not restricted by the pop Christian-lite confines of Nashville and, subsequently, will still be revered long after the fad-based veneers that so many others exploit have faded. This is by far, as a whole, Kevin Max's best album. Get it and settle in for a long trip.

Don't like it? Then Get On Yer Bike! I kid... ;)

I'm certain I've said this before, but it bears repeating. There really isn't anything Kevin Max can't do well, and there isn't anything he's afraid to do either. Since going it alone back in 2000, Kevin has put forth records of so many varying flavors, all of which *should* have him far distinguished from his confining CCM past. Never content to stick to a formula he knows will work - instead preferring to hang from the cliff by his fingernails - Kevin has once again reinvented his sound as if it were as simple as changing shirts. This time we see him making a foray into a rock-electronica hybrid. The album starts on hot asphalt with a provocative shove and a smirk and takes the listener through a seamless, fluid journey ending in a dark, haunted place, hovering a few feet above the ground. It goes without saying that Kevin is a master lyricist, and not one who is given to spoon-feeding an audience. You could just sit back and enjoy the sounds if that's your thing, but I'd suggest taking the opportunity to fully absorb to the work of a man who has language and nuance wrapped around his little finger. <<While we're on the subject of language, the man is an amazing writer. You should check out some of his poetry... and the novel, once it's done. :) >> For the ones (there are always a few) who are clinging to the past and still soggy in the pants over dcTalk... this is not CCM fare! The next album won't be either! Kevin is an artist, not a machine! Enjoy, kiddies! :D

Deconstructing Adonis

All who we thought Kevin Max to be or where we thought he would take us in Cotes d' Amor proves that one can't forecast what this guy is imagineering (sorry disney-ites). He had paid respects to Nashville in his last full album, The Blood, but then buries it in this fantastic work, taking us out further out to sea, away from recognizeable landmarks. True Rebel is right...and the 8-Bit inspired Death of CCM instrumental hints to us that we shouldn't mess with a guy and his art. Of course, a number of tracks--Out of the Wild, Baby I'm Your Man, Future Love Song, Traveler, & Saint of Lonely Hearts--are remixes of Kevin's recent EP Crashing Gates. If they are an improvement or not to you, then buy both so you can decide. On Yer Bike!, first track, kicks the album in gear, a fun song, but not sure if it connects to the rest of the album.... Actually, the second track, the intro 2099 transitions us into more of the heart of the album, parting the veil, right into Out of the Wild...which seem more at home in CdA, than Crashing Gates. Even When it Hurts is worth the price of the ticket...demanding repetitive play...proabably one of the most dressed down songs done by Kevin. We know he has that golden voice, but he doesn't get carried away with it on CdA, compared to the heavily-layered Stereotype Be (a friggin' masterpiece). This album seems to be more of a deconstructed Kevin...while he does throw in a few electronica splashes and cool beats (ala Ravensongs) his voice doesn't sound like it is the main instrument...making way for the message. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Max still gots it...the highs and lows...and gives us that muezzin-like trill, but you feel like Kevin is being more open, more intimate on the mic...after the curtain call. We need that--I think--his long-time fans, a little encouragement to follow where this is all going. Kevin's poetic heart invades this album, void of marketability intentions...honest, uplifting, and always enigmatic. This album is a risk-take, more on the experimental side, and clearly not at all connected to what some may hope to be, as produced by the former member of the group that shall not be named. Speaking of the Unholy Triad (joke), it a melancholy ending to probabaly Kevin's most melancholy album release. Fans of Kevin Max love him for all these reasons...and though Kevin may dance to the tune of Chuck D, saying "Radio, suckers never play me", he can also hold onto Flava Flav's refrain to that, which is, "I don't need it." Kevin Max is the next Lou Reed...Morrisey...Nick Drake...Leonard Cohen, where people aren't gonna catch on until some hipster director borrows a song for a movie...and by then, he won't give a shake, having the right to tell us all to stuff it and there's more where that came from.

Biography

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '00s

Often perceived as the eccentric, attention-seeking member of the CCM trio DC Talk, Kevin Max grew up outside of Grand Rapids, MI. Formerly known as Kevin Smith, music played a vital part in his formative years. Max started singing at the age of four and remembers "being carted around to schools, churches, and radio programs." He attended college at Virginia's Liberty University, where he met fellow DC Talk members Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait. The three formed the band in 1987, merging the styles...
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Cotes d' Armor, Kevin Max
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  • $7.99
  • Genres: Rock, Music
  • Released: Aug 24, 2010
  • ℗ 2010 dPulse Recordings

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