A brief journey through the Christianity, through dredged chants and televangelist fragments

What does it mean to be Christian? Two millennia have passed since the birth of the religion, resulting in a myriad of different denominations and interpretations emanating from the same source. While seemingly linked through Christ, the services a Christian attends, the way they practice faith in their daily life, and even the definitive translation of their holy book look vastly different from one practitioner to another. Christian theology is inextricably linked with the Western world; a pillar of the society's system of control. To stay relevant, it has scrambled to subsume aspects of modernity into its framework. The word has become amorphous and ever-evolving. It’s through these innovations and evolutions that Christianity begins to splinter itself into mutated sects.

These radical differences lie at the heart of ツイン・ピークス’s (US Golf 95) newest record, 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡. The record throws listeners forward and backwards along the Christian timeline, conveying the enormity of this religion. Presented “without bias”, the record allows a neutral space for these different forms of worship to live next to each other. The contrasting textures and emotions found between forms of worship music leave a listener to wonder how Christian rap can stem from the same spiritual place as Gregorian chants.

𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡’s opening track, In Excelsis Deo, clears space for different forms of worship to lay themselves bare. Angelic pads ring out in a simple four-chord progression. It is a soft spritz of holy water, sterilising the brain of anything that may cloud their listening experience. Free of preconceptions, a listener is now ready to enter these different chambers of faith.

That journey begins with Televangelism. Presenting an ad for “the best worship songs of all time”, massive reverb washes out a reminder that “millions of people” have been a part of the Christian faith. The space the reverb provides makes the transition of the ad from jubilant cries of faith to serious explanations of how to send money deeply alienating. By drenching the ad in reverb, a listener is able to step back and observe from afar, feeling its true intentions.

Track three, Mass in the Catholic Church, is a Christian-sounding jam calling to mind the background music one would hear on a Christian radio station. Drenched in reverb, the song certainly feels exalted, but is unable to break through emotionally, providing a lighter experience than the track title may convey.

A tonal shift comes on Benedictine. A mysterious choir lets out an eerie cry, casting the track in an esoteric energy. 808 drums pound out over a sinister loop, linking mysterious old Christian traditions with the world of hip hop. This track pairs well with the next track, Monks, which, while simply being two minutes of monks chanting, continues a dive into the more otherworldly depths of the Christian faith.

Returning from these depths, Angel is another track presenting an ad for contemporary Christian rock compilations. The most significant feature of this track comes from its narrator: “This is music with a message.” This message carries through all of the different worship music presented here; despite vast differences in tone and style, all belong to the same faith and have one purpose.

This unity is interrogated on faith2025. Where the rest of the tracks here consist of contemporary Christian rock and Gregorian chants, faith2025 is a reverbed examination of a song described as “Christian Instagram reel rap”. The style here contrasts sharply with the rest of the record. With this track, ツイン・ピークス opens up the scope even wider, from gospel-coded televangelist tracks, to echoing Gregorian chants, and now to modern pious social media slop.

Sending off this foray into Christian worship music, Shield of the Trinity is a pleasant jam once again calling to mind Christian radio background music. Providing space for the listener to reflect, this track floats through the heavens in a euphoric bliss until receding back into the faith it sprang from.

𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡 displays the multitudinous styles of worship Christians practice from one sect to another. Positioning worship music from the past and present next to each other, a listener is able to experience the cultural whiplash of different styles existing under the same faith. The EP is a successful, albeit short, dark ride through a handful of the religion’s many rooms. Angel and Televangelism provide the most interesting moments of the record, contextualising the record through their narration, but the short tracklist results in these tracks feeling too close together for how similar they are. In the end, the sampling methodology keeps the artist tied firmly to the modern day.

Still, 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡’s brevity doesn’t diminish its resonance. It offers a quick yet immersive journey through the different soundscapes of the Christian faith. The space it provides for reflection – and the questions it prompts about the nature of worship – more than justify the 14-minute runtime. 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡 encourages listeners to consciously encounter the myriad expressions of Christianity, leaving one to wonder: Are they truly all part of the same faith?