“There’s a season to be held and a season to behold,” Kunz opens with careful wordplay. “Green Again” kicks things off, and its tender veneer obscures an underlying current of emotion. It’s moving to hear something so awestruck after previously ruminating on “Good God.” This feels like the full vision of “Shaping Season” realized. It’s incredible to hear something so full after hearing songs with little more than guitar. “Green Again” sets the bar for Kunz’s full sound, and it’s exciting. Strings and intricate guitar arpeggios are gentle but compelling there’s a feeling of triumph augmented by a bit of a drum build. The first seconds of the album conjure a feeling of levity and brightness that shimmers as brightly as ever in Kunz’s work. These are not songs that attempt to talk over the voices on an uncertain world instead, those voices seem unable to resist being quiet in light of this album. Confidence rests on pillars of meekness and humility. Indeed, there is paradoxical power to this album. But there is a dynamic momentum to be found even in the quietness and lethargy of these songs. There is no bombastic energy, no wild crescendos or guitar solos. Suffice it to say, the “Peterson” sound is evident throughout these songs. Shelterheart was produced and mixed by Asher Peterson (son of Andrew Peterson) in Nashville with additional help from Allen Odell. In terms of content, Shelterheart demystifies the beauty of the Gospel in diary-entry fashion-themes of suffering, endurance, loss, and joy are all given proper form via proxy of deeply-personal tales. This 15-track record veers slightly from the trajectory of Shaping Season, aiming even higher as would-be simple arrangements are realized with full band instrumentation to incredible effect. His newest album, Shelterheart, likewise is expansive, ambitious, and thoughtfully-penned. Sitting at 13 songs spanning nearly 50 minutes long, this debut proved industrious to say the least. Benjamin Daniel (Ben Kunz) set his sights high in 2020 by releasing the first part of his Shaping Season project.

Funny Little Alien by Benjamin Daniel