The Main Thing - A God Project

The Main Thing

A God Project
self-released; 2016

3.3 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Doug and Marnie Phair are the husband and wife duo who make up The Main Thing. On their release A God Project they play a mix of rock, country, blues and reggae which all has one thing in common: Christianity. 

This is music made by Christians for Christians. After spending some time with the album I can’t see any atheists, agnostic, Buddhists, Jews, etc. embracing the themes and messages in these songs. 

The album opens with “Praise Your Lord” which has a lounge-y, elevator music type vibe. I would say the aesthetics here veers towards ‘80s production. It’s laid back and the lyrics are pretty straightforward about their intention. They sing, “I’m gonna lift my hands and sing / To my Savior, Lord and King I will call out Your name Jesus.” 

The next track “How Long O Lord” is slightly more upbeat with more energy. It fits into the soft rock genre and has more or less the same message as the first song. Musically, “The Lamb Has Come” was one of my favorites. It’s slightly funky but still fits into the rock category. 

One of the highlights is “The Water Song” which has a soulful vocal performance from both Doug and Marnie Phair. ”Shackles” is enhanced by a nice sounding mandolin while “Seek” benefits from layered vocal harmonies. As the album progresses the duo continues to impress with solid songwriting. There are some Christian artists such as Sufjan Steven who often mention god in their songs without necessarily feeling like they are preaching.

A God Project is certainly not that. There is no ambiguity within these songs and you are left with the impression that the Phairs have no doubts about their convictions. Fair enough but because of that fact this will appeal to only those with the unwavering belief that Jesus is the answer.

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