Gripping from start to finish, As Sure as the Sun launches Ellie Holcomb's solo career in earnest, building on the momentum of her time in Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors (Drew being her husband) and her debut EP, Magnolia.
Here, her voice is still that sweet and slightly weathered strand of silk that perfectly complements the modern folk or triumphant, modern worship music that surrounds it, but the material is a non-stop emptying of the top-shelf this time out.
Highlights are hard to discern since there are just so many, but check the delicate title track for how easily love pours out of this album, or march along with the Mumford & Sons-like "Marvelous Light" as it approaches something utterly epic.
Late album wonder "The Valley" can lift the heart on any given burdensome day, but when it comes to moving performances, the award goes to the closing "I Want to Be Free," a full-bodied, bluesy numbers that suggests Holcomb has been taking in plenty of Billie Holiday and Alabama Shakes.
A superb, often stunning, debut.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As Sure as the SunEllie Holcomb, Rusty Varenkamp | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 2 | Marvelous LightEllie Holcomb, Rusty Varenkamp | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | The Broken BeautifulMatt Armstrong, Ellie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | My Portion and My StrengthEllie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Night SongEllie Holcomb, Christa Wells, Nicole Witt | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Love Never FailsEllie Holcomb, Rusty Varenkamp | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Love Broke ThroughMatt Armstrong, Ellie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Only Hope I've GotEllie Holcomb, Rusty Varenkamp, Nicole Witt | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | The ValleyEllie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Songs of DeliveranceJillian Edwards, Ellie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | I Want to Be FreeEllie Holcomb | Ellie Holcomb | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 38 mins | 89 MB | |||||
| 34 mins | 217 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Armstrong | Composer |
| 2 | Brown Bannister | Engineer, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Melissa Broadwell | Vocals |
| 4 | Lani Crump | Mixing Coordinator |
| 5 | Jon Dicus | Artwork, Design |
| 6 | Justin Dowse | Assistant |
| 7 | Nathan Dugger | Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Mandolin |
| 8 | Jillian Edwards | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Darius Fitzgerald | Photography |
| 10 | Drew Holcomb | Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Ellie Holcomb | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Buckley Miller | Engineer |
| 13 | Danny Oertli | Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Mike Payne | Guitar |
| 15 | Matt Pierson | Bass |
| 16 | Will Sayles | Drums, Percussion |
| 17 | Ben Shive | Dulcimer, Engineer, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Rusty Varenkamp | Composer |
| 19 | Christa Wells | Composer |
| 20 | Shane D. Wilson | Mixing |
| 21 | Nicole Witt | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
Ellie Holcomb
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |