Counting Stars

iTunes Review

With a quiet sort of mastery Andrew Peterson spins tales of yearning and redemption on Counting Stars. Over the years, this accomplished singer/songwriter has emerged as one of Christian music’s most thoughtfully poetic voices, avoiding easy clichés in favor of stories rooted in everyday experience. He upholds his high standards on his latest work by setting cleanly wrought lyrics to evocative acoustic guitar-based melodies, dressed up with banjos, violins and percussion. Songs like “Many Roads,” “World Traveler” and “God of My Fathers” take a wide-angled view of life in vividly unfolding imagery. Peterson is especially eloquent when he depicts the dark nights of the soul that even believers experience — “You Came So Close” and “The Last Frontier” manage to find hope amid despair. Whether he’s celebrating the bonds of marriage (“Dancing In the Minefields”) or reminding himself of his true calling (“Fool With a Fancy Guitar”), Peterson’s music combines humility with a hard-won sense of joy.