“The Way Back Home” by Spoken

A few months ago, Spoken’s Matt Baird announced he was adding a key player with guitarist J.R. Bareis (Love & Death, Islander). Introducing such an accomplished guitarist was pretty much guaranteed to serve the Spoken sound well, and the first single with the new lineup proves that to be true.

“The Way Back Home” sees Matt Baird exercising the full range of his dynamic vocals, which can pivot in an instant between gritty and growled to clean-cutting and melodic. J.R. offers a guitar tone as textured as the vocals, the perfect storm of distortion and precision

Thematically, the song tracks the trajectory of the prodigals– a role we all fill at one time or another. The urgency in the song’s driving tempo highlights the desperation of the journey home, while the lyrics of the chorus recognizes the perspective of a loving God ready to run to meet us:

"I believe that You are shining
Shining like the sun
watching over the world as we find our way back home."

“The Way Back Home” delivers on everything we love from Spoken, proving why they are one of the most trusted bands around for delivering consistent quality. Rather than shifting them in an all-new direction, the addition of J.R. shores up that solid musical identity established over two decades– and leaves us ready for a full album.

Find “The Way Back Home” on Spotify and Apple Music.