Country/Americana singer/songwriter, Crystal Yates has released a new EP that is aptly titled, The Other Side.
Crystal wrote this album from redeemed memories, plucked-up alcoholic roots, healed marital disillusionment and mercy from consequences of poor choices. This collection is offered as her invitation to come and journey to The Other Side.
Many notable country and christian co-writers worked with Crystal in this collaborative project that she co-produced alongside her husband Will and good friend, McKenzie Smith.
True to her country, gospel, and soulful upbringing, Crystal delivers messages that are human and honest about how “messy” life can be sometimes. They lyrics reach down deep and touch the raw places of the human heart. Though not overtly stated, the listener can hear that the lyrics come from one who has experienced ups and downs alongside the life-changing grace of God.
The first track,
Leave Me Alone To Die
is a nod to musical influences like Merle Haggard, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings and other classic country legends. Yates says this song was written to “stand down evil.” The song comes from her memories of being kidnapped when she was 5 years old. Crystal recalls, "it was the first time I remember experiencing real evil. There is an enemy that wishes to steal, kill, and destroy in a very personal way.” She remembers being led out the back door of a store by a strange man; “all I could think about was what my Grannie taught me”, recalls Crystal, “‘if you are ever in trouble, call on Jesus and He will save you!’” Crystal reminisces, “with the faith of a child, through tears, I prayed and asked Jesus to help me.’ She remembers well how the man who had taken her immediately stopped undressing and asked her if she wanted to go home. “He never harmed or touched me. The name of Jesus literally saved me and the evil fled in that very second." You will be encouraged by the full testimony and acoustic version of Leave Me Alone To Die
Already Yours
is reminiscent of Motown and Crystal’s soulful influences such as Etta James, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. However when asked about where her messaging came from she acknowledged that ”It is easy to be moody and pessimistic in general.” This song serves as her reminder “to be grateful for all that I have in Christ.” She states that Already Yours is God’s response to the “love, acceptance, and goodness” that she seeks. “He draws my eyes to look higher; to focus on what I have and not what I believe I lack.” This moving song is available right now at iTunes pre-order (https://itun.es/us/Knn2bb)
Made To Last
was written with songwriting veteran Barbara Cloyd. Crystal said, "I wanted to make people in a seasoned marriage laugh while also setting the record straight for those who fantasize about fairy tale lives. I wanted to write a song that awakens desire for committed, steadfast and faithful love, which really is a determined decision and choice."
"Anytime we try to find rest for our souls in anything but God, it leads to a dead end." Yates states with conviction.
She believes that "temporary fixes do more harm than good.” That is the value that inspired the fourth track -
Hell On My Soul
"This is an raw, honest song with hindsight that hopefully warns against choosing to mask vs. receiving the deep healing that only comes from the love of God." Crystal’s cowriter, Texas female singer songwriter, Kylie Rae Harris, also stars in the new video releasing with album. The hope is that it will “reveal destructive paths in the light of day.”
The final offering and title track of the album is
The Other Side
written with friends and fellow songwriters Jennie Riddle, Richie Fike, Grant Pittman. “Life is a worthy struggle to The Other Side.” That messaging is the common thread in every song. “This song was a blast to create” states Crystal. “We all gathered around a piano in Jennie's Nashville home and started singing. The idea flowed out easily as if we knew it already! This song truly embodies my musical roots in every way; soulful and swampy.” Crystal states that she hopes this song will embolden an “intentional lifting of eyes to the promise of a new day.”
Crystal wants to leave us with the following thoughts to ponder: “My identity is found, first, in knowing I am a child of God and then secondly, in knowing that He put me here comfort others the way He has comforted me. I pray that whatever I write and release is always done through the lens of someone that has been rescued by the mercy of God."
You are welcomed and encouraged to join Crystal at Love and War in Plano May 14th for a release party with a full band and surprise guests! You can pre-order the new album here: The Other Side - EP by Crystal Yates
Crystal and her husband Will travel with sons Hayden and Evan, sharing their lives and the love of God. Please pray over them as they release this new music with hope that it will invite people to real life, found only in Jesus Christ.