One year of marriage. And one deeply profound worship album.
A few weeks following Kaden Slay’s and Melanie Tierce’s first wedding anniversary, PEOPLE & SONGS released the young couple’s debut album, appropriately titled The Slays on Oct 18, 2019 at the “Turn Up The Lights” worship festival in La Porte, Indiana.
Sometimes gritty, sometimes tender but always genuine, heartfelt, Americana-infused worship songs from two artists totally in love with Jesus, His Church—and each other.
“It was all a seamless stream of events, from the wedding to the honeymoon to the first few months of marriage to working on the album,” says Kaden.
Kaden’s first album as a solo artist, The Mercy Of Jesus, was released in 2018 and debuted at #2 on iTunes Christian/Gospel category. It featured the title track, along with “One Thing I’ve Learned” and “There Is A Lamb,” sung with Melanie Tierce. In 2017, Melanie released a very personal single, “One More Step.” They were both prominently featured in PEOPLE & SONGS’ The Emerging Sound projects, including “Touched By A Fire,” “Give Us Your Heart,” “Redeemed By The Blood Of The Lamb” and “Welcome King Jesus.” Melanie’s stunning American Idol audition in 2016 earned a unanimous Golden Ticket from the judges and brought Keith Urban to tears.
The PEOPLE & SONGS label head, executive producer and A&R for The Slays, Jennie Lee Riddle, chose Old Bear Records, with Chris Hoisington of Brothers McClurg to co-produce. It was a perfect fit for the Slays’ natural leaning toward Americana and that down-home Southern sound. “We’d hung out with them a year prior,” remembers Kaden, “And we just loved their vibe and their taste in music. So we were ecstatic for the opportunity to work with them!”
The album opens with audio from a church service at Crossroads Free Pentecostal Church in Lucedale, Mississippi, where Kaden grew up, blended and layered with intercessory prayers from the entire PEOPLE & SONGS community. The pastor is Rev. Warren Slay, Kaden’s father, reciting the familiar Scripture passage from 2nd Chronicles 7:14, a fitting preface to “Heal Our Land.”
“That opening prayer and Scripture is my favorite part of the album. It adds so much heart,” says Melanie. “And it’s the perfect lead-in to ‘Heal Our Land.’ The whole first section of that song came out of a spontaneous worship moment at our 4th Emerging Sound summer camp. From there, we crafted the song around the simple truth that healing is directly tied to repentance and a repentant people.”
“Arms Of My Beloved,” written by Kaden, Melanie and Wesley Nilsen, is a tender, deeply intimate song about the love and mercy of Jesus. It begins: I used to think that I was living when all I did was long for more...
Then the chorus turns and declares, Thank you Jesus for Your mercy that holds me steady on my way, Leaning on the arms of my Beloved, in the arms of my Beloved I’ll stay.
Kaden reflects,
“Jennie quotes this scripture a lot from Song of Solomon 8:5, ‘Who is this coming out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved?’ I’ve always loved that. I also love the hymn, ‘Leaning On The Everlasting Arms’ so ‘Arms Of My Beloved’ is our take on all that.”
Kaden and Melanie’s version of “Hell Or High Water” infuses that down-home Americana flavor into the powerful anthem from PEOPLE & SONGS. “We wrote that song at a conference in Birmingham, Alabama, with our P&S people and about 60 attendees,” remembers Kaden. “From the get-go, this song had unbelievable punch. Every time we get to the chorus, the room erupts in praise! We were excited about how that one turned out. It went a direction we weren’t expecting, but really ended up loving.”
Melanie added,
“We deliberated for a long time about using the word ‘hell.’ We didn’t want to be divisive or offend, but we wanted to write a song that does the work of bringing peace.”
The discussion among the 60 conference attendees included a number of pastors who felt that this was an honest heart cry that they would want their congregations to sing, Come hell or high water, You’re still on the throne…
Jennie points out “In a day when all music has gone to the cloud, this one is worth holding in your hands, so you can fix your eyes on every word. The lyrical content alone is worth the 8-panel beautiful album cover. Worth the vinyl. It’s a forever keepsake, filled with some of the strongest songs and most anointed voices I’ve ever encountered. This album has become a part of me. Kaden and Melanie are loved-filled, creative, and inspiring servants of the Lord. The Slays have won my heart.”
Reflecting on the project as a whole, Kaden says,
“Our heart for this album is for people to experience the full-range of everything Jesus has to offer, These songs cover the different aspects of all that God has for us and displays our full walk with Jesus.” Melanie sums it up simply, “I want them to see Jesus, and have those moments of just being with Him.”