There is Hope - Jess Hammond

Joseph Smith | 5 October 2006

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Jess Hammond is a Christian looking to witness to the world using the gifts God has given her.

She has worked in a drug rehabilitation centre in Siberia and been a part of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) work in Nepal, China and Kings Cross.

The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter has been performing her music at festivals, café churches and Christian conferences all over Australia along with her husband and guitarist, Daniel. Jess will be performing four Sydney shows in the first week of November (see below).

From hearing the entire album it is clear that Jess has God, his glory and his character as the centre of her life – her own subjective experience of him comes secondary, and that’s the way it should be.

Opening track Emmanuel celebrates the character of Christ, his work and his life as recorded in the Bible. The chorus reminds us that the Christ we read about is more than just a historical figure born in a manger 2000 years ago – he is indeed ‘with us now and forever more’.

Isn’t He Lovely beautifully encapsulates both the wonder of God’s might and power and the intimacy of his love and friendship with each of us.

In Beautiful Friend Jess cites Song of Songs 2:16 as her inspiration and she sings about God as lover, brother and father.

The album falls into the folk genre with acoustic lead and rhythm guitars, drums and occasional keyboards utilised on the majority of tracks. Overly-processed sounds are eschewed in favour of more stripped back acoustic arrangements.

The tracks On That Day, Hope Deferred and Redeemer are the most upbeat and the songs that I personally found most interesting musically. Hope Deferred is particularly unique. It has a nice key change about two thirds of the way through that caught me off-guard and added an extra layer of richness to the track.

The title track There is Hope appears to be inspired by Jess’s passion for and experience of missionary work. With lyrics like ‘I close my eyes, try to hide from the storm, as the rain crashes around me, and I’m longing for dawn’, we get a strong sense of the pain Jess observed and the sorrow she must have felt at while serving with YWAM here and overseas.

The Psalms and Song of Songs appear to be the books of the Bible that most inspire the songs on There is Hope, yet the work of Christ is never obscured in the lyrics. This shows that a good understanding of God’s work in the Old Testament is essential to a complete appreciation of the work of God and Christ in our lives.

The inclusion of the song lyrics in the booklet show that the messages communicated in Jess’s words are of utmost importance to her. Most of the song titles also have Bible verse references next to them allowing Jess to share her own inspiration for her music with the listener.

With just 10 tracks running at a little over 40 minutes, the album might leave you wanting a more. However, Jess has given us 10 quality songs to enjoy for now, leaving us keen to discover what she will do next.

Joseph Smith