Matt Hammitt - Every Falling Tear Review

Matt Hammitt, lead singer of Sanctus Real, has had an emotional journey of late. In September 2010, Matt and Sarah’s son, Bowen, was born with a rare ‘present at birth’ heart deficiency called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), where the left side of the heart doesn’t develop fully. With many open heart surgeries and many CPR revivals, Bowen continues to have his share of hospital stays. Out of his son’s experience, Matt decided to write songs about his tough ordeal, and how the Lord was and still is faithful in spite of the circumstances that surround them; leading to his full solo debut album, Every Falling Tear. With a portion of the proceeds from the album transferring into Matt’s not for profit fundraiser, ‘Whole Hearts Foundation’, which aims to bring hope to families in similar situations as his son; this is an album that caught me by surprise, with it’s honest vulnerability, but also for it’s simultaneous struggle of feeling the pain of his son’s circumstances, yet knowing the hope there is when you place your trust in Christ. This is an album similar to Steven Curtis Chapman’s Beauty Will Rise; as you listen, you will certainly feel what Matt feels; hurt, pain and confusion, together with assurance that God has everyone in the palm of His hand....full text Music, so often, has been used as a way to make emotion tangible. It can encourage, discourage, comfort or dislodge people in ways simple words cannot. Matt Hammitt, Sanctus Real frontman, is releasing his debut album with plenty of emotion binding it together. Last year, Matt and Sarah Hammitt had to battle through the dolor of wondering whether or not their unborn child was going to survive. During an ultrasound they discovered their son, Bowen, had something called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Essentially, he was going to be born with half of a heart. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending and Bowen is safe at home with his parents (and celebrates his one-year birthday before this album's release!). The songs on Every Falling Tear were written as a means of coping for Matt through these difficult times. Having knowledge of Matt's story adds a layer of depth to each song and makes a seemingly ordinary praise album much richer....full text ultiple Grammy-nominated, Dove Award winning Sanctus Real lead vocalist Matt Hammitt is releasing his first solo album, Every Falling Tear on September 13th. Organically sparked by the rich joy and pain of life over the last year that strengthened Hammitt’s faith and solidified his resolve to lead his family well, these new songs are his most deeply personal to date.

Encouraged by his Sanctus Real band mates to release these tracks and to share his story through the songs that are meant to provide hope for people that are in crisis, Hammitt’s journey to t Every Falling Tear started with the current, critically acclaimed and best-selling Sanctus Real album, Pieces of a Real Heart. With songs like “Redeemer,” “Keep My Heart Alive, “Dear Heart,” and “Lead Me,” the whole album become a prophetic glimpse into what the Hammitt’s were about to go through, and proved to a be a source of hope as Matt and his wife, Sarah, take care of Bowen, “small victorious one,” who was born Sept. 9, 2010 and has now gone through two heart surgeries, an infection and other complications since being born. ...full text Matt Hammitt has had much success being the lead singer of Sanctus Real; but when his son Bowen was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome he began to write songs to sing to his son in the hospital. These songs were not originally written for a record; and therefore they turned out absolutely amazing. Matt wrote these songs out of pure emotion and those are the songs that always turn out the best. This album gives me chills every time I listen to it. From the moment I downloaded "All of Me" as a free download on iTunes I was hooked. Matt Hammitt's voice is so enchanting and so comforting. This is now my go-to album when I need comforting, uplifting, or if I just want to listen to some really great music.

The first song off the album "All of Me" is one of my favorites on the entire project. In "All of Me" Matt talks about how he is struggling with not being able to help Bowen physically. He says that instead he is going to give Bowen all of himself and always be there for him. It is such an amazing and comforting song. He says, "You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough, enough to mend our broken hearts. But giving you all of me is where I'll start." The lyrics to this song give me goosebumps every time. I especially love it when he says "let me recklessly you."...full text