Hero’s Heart: story behind the album

This past half year, I (Graham) have been leading a teaching series for our church youth group entitled “The Family of Jesus”. 

We realized that there is so much wealth and wonder and tragedy and truth in the character narratives in the historical accounts woven through the text.

While putting these talks together, a practice I used to meditate on the passages was to pen some verses reflecting on the characters. These were mostly personal ruminations, a sort of effort to step into their shoes. But then they started to collect, and we felt a sort of rhythm to the lines.

What started as little notes jotted in pamphlets turned into iPhone demos turned into rough recordings turned into a whole album of songs.

Combine this with a writing adventure Abby has set out on. We are both bookworms, and Abby had begun diving into the Iliad. We realized that a lot of our songs hung together to tell a grand narrative. More than a loose grouping of songs, we felt we had a sort of Bible-character/epic-quest folk-symphony. 

That brings us to where we are now: Hero’s Heart. This story arc follows a prince living in a desert land, who sets off in search of an “Isle of Peace”, hungry to renew his hope and purpose.

We are targeting a full length album, and invite you to come along for the ride. We want to put out a robust body of work that tells a full story arc. Our intent is to do the majority of the recording/producing in our home studio outside Philadelphia, and then travel down to Nashville to finish the album with a friend.

Our dream is for God to be exalted in this work—we have so enjoyed the goodness of His Word while making it. It has been super sanctifying. This makes us all the more hopeful for listeners to be clearly pointed to Christ through the presentation of this art.

We are honored to ask you to consider partnering in this vision!

Instagram follower

“I'm listening to this song right now 😭 It was the first one I saw and I felt like I needed to hear it first. The second I came across one of your videos, the Holy Spirit showed me that this band is for me. This song is so full of truth, the words and the melody are just what I needed and it has been such a comfort. 😭♥️”

Concert Attendee

“Your music gets down deep. Wish i could give it to my middle school self way back when. Thanks for turning vulnerability into music that reaches out to touch the vulnerability of others.”

Concert-goer

“Your music gave my chills! What a night!”

Fellow artist

“Thank you for using the talent he has given you to be a blessing to others and draw praise back to him! You are an encouragement to me to do the same with what God has given me.”

Instagram follower

“Hey thanks for sending this message. Because y'all sent me this message, I did check out your music. It has slowly steeped into my daily listening and now when very hard things happen with my family, your song “Wild Edge” is what comes to my mind and it reminds me to hold on to the truth of who God is. Thank you for that.”

Concert Attendee

“Cried the whole time y’all sang. Thank you for that.”

story arc

one… in the desert:

there is a prince in a desert land

bordering the sea

he realizes he is ruling from a place of lack —

his country is suffering

coming to the end of himself

he goes on a mission

—part exile, part odyssey—

to rediscover hope

he embarks for a haven from legend:

the Isle of Peace

~

two…departure to the sea:

wandering the sea

the prince searches for the mysterious

Isle of Peace

he vacillates between hope, regret,

despondency, guilt, and dreams

then, on the horizon,

an Isle appears and a voice calls to him…

~

three… The Isle of Peace:

the prince meets a sage

who challenges his vision of the good life

what if hope and goodness

aren’t from recognition?

what if loving and leading

could come from a place of security?

what if God has never been silent?

~

four… The Return:

inspired with new wisdom and compassion…

the prince returns

his testimony ushers the hurting into healing

the truth he’s been given is

a beacon to the misguided

the desert begins to blossom

why we are doing this

one… God’s glory: To make God’s goodness and glory known through art. As created beings we are making this music to point to how God—wildly—reveals Himself to us, relates to us, reconciles us to Himself, and repurposes us in Christ to make His glory known.

~

two… Vehicle for connection: music gives you unique access to people and places — concerts get our walls down and open us to consider things we usually wouldn’t. Part of being able to have gospel centered music ministry is creating new art to go and share.

~

three… Part of the witness: we have found that us being a band has been a lively part of our youth ministry. It has been a dimension of sanctification and struggle that we’ve been able to share with our teens. It also has been a space we can invite other kids in with their musical gifts and songwriting.

the target

Guest instrumentalists (bringing in percussionists and string instrumentalists to do the songs justice)

$1,000

Co-producing // Mixing // Mastering (all of the things that make the music sound polished and professional)

$8,500

fulfillment and administrative costs

$500

Professional promotion & marketing (ensuring the music gets out well)

$3,000

Tier 1 Target Total: $13,000

Live album — we recently joined a collective of Philadelphia-based artists. We’d like to film us performing a bunch of these songs and others live.

Illustrated book — Abby has been writing an epic poem to accompany the work: it would be incredible to release this as a companion piece

$4,000

Stretch goal total: $17,000

$524.44 raised as of 3/17/25

bring it to life

Tier 1

Any $

Tier 2

$250+

Tier 3

$500+

click a tier to support

we are still working out the specifics of rewards for each tier — at this point we are excited to welcome backers who are along for the ride to bring this art to life!

the words

We write songs that are first and foremost lyrically driven.

As lovers of words and story and poetry, our desire is that the lines written connect deeply with your imagination, heart and hopes. 

Since this project is very thematically driven, we want you to have early access to peruse the working lyrics. 

  • Seems like I have always looked over my shoulder

    Stuttering your promises as you take my hand … to the promised land

    I run away … then run ahead … uneasy … of staying on my knees

    I live caught up in between


    Oh I struck the rock trying to make them drink

    And I broke your stone - let the pressure push me to the brink

    Recreate in me the heart you crafted at the start

    My shoes are off again - sometimes it feels like I only ever…begin


    Sometimes I hear the past echo around the corner

    I doubt the man you told that I’d be … by Your touch

    Did I not stand at the burning bush and hear Your voice saying my name?

    Am I quick to forget, am I quick to let go of the words that you say

    the places you took my frame


    Oh I struck the rock trying to make them drink

    And I broke your stone - let the pressure push me to the brink

    Recreate in me the heart you crafted at the start

    My shoes are off again - sometimes it feels like I only ever…


    Begin again, can I begin again? 

    I gotta walk back up the mountain


    Oh I struck the rock trying to make them drink

    And I broke your stone - let the pressure push me to the brink

    Recreate in me the heart you crafted at the start

    My shoes are off again - sometimes it feels like I only ever…

  • Lead me to the end of noise

    Only sense and quiet wisdom

    Slow enough to glimpse what hides

    Burrowed in the veil unlifted

    Back when I was just a boy

    No plot or plan or furtive ploy

    Make me the pure unmined alloy

    I need a simpler faith


    At the end of it all

    I must be still

    To be filled


    Faith was a redwood to be climbed

    Love was a silver weave to be twined 

    Hope was a cavern to be mined

    Now I’m poor

    Now I need new words for old belief

    My eyes are dry, I need new grief

    My grip is loose, teach me to cleave

    Marry me again

    Introduce me as your friend


    At the end of it all

    I must be still

    To be filled

  • You’re the risk that keeps me safe

    All along I’ve hungered for a taste

    When I was a girl I would climb the highest tree I could find

    To see the world open out underneath so clearly 

    Like the palm of an infinite hand 

    Like it's the palm of your hand

  • Hold my heel til I cannot run away from You

    If I’m honest, I’m not honest, snap the hands I use to bend the truth

    I can’t take this back and forth, I keep reinventing my true north 

    I keep on cheating numbers to buy more time


    Change my accounts until all I have is yours

    And put me in front of all I’ve run from, move me towards

    I’ve got family patterns in my brain, I’ve got bad habits that I’ve trained

    And I have been a soul just wasting time 


    So wrestle me down until I give in

    Wrestle me down all of my broken sin

    Wrestle me down again 

    Every place is holy ground

    Wrestle me – down


    To make me whole, come take control, no don’t let go, don’t let me walk away the same

    You hold grace, You are the chase, I want to break, come wipe Your blood on my brow


    So wrestle me down until I give in

    Wrestle me down all of my broken sin

    Wrestle me down again 

    Every place is holy ground

    Wrestle me – down

  • Tangled in a torpor, I’m wandering the wastes

    Missed arriving early, I’m already running late

    Settle for the margin, lost hunger for a cure

    Left color on the counter, as I rushed out of the door


    Cobbling a kingdom, demons climb the walls

    So I eat the scroll at random, and I linger at the mall


    But empty out my homeland, see me weeping by a stream

    As I swear to draw the water

    Come surprise me


    Gravity sits heavy, it rumbles down my throat

    Come roll away the boulder, come give a colored coat


    This might be a season, or maybe my home state

    I am not impressive, but Jesus help me stay


    Sometimes I don’t love you, I don’t want to love you, but God

    I want to want to love you, I want to want to live


    Oh I’m languid on the carpet, come cave the rooftop floor

    Get me off the couch to answer the door, come surprise me


    Underneath the dessert, flowers wait to bloom

    Maybe all this waiting, isn’t actually a tomb

    Maybe all this waiting, is actually from you

  • this is a new workflow for us. our And Spiritual Songs project gave us the chance to iron our producing music in our home, but we haven't co-produced anything before, nor have we had guest instrumentalists.

    this is also the largest project we've pursued yet. bringing all of the items together is pretty massive, but we've been encouraged seeing what we believe to be the Holy Spirit guiding the process.

  • this is a great question! we have the instrumentals largely complete and are making progress on inputting vocals. working with a professional of Jeremy's caliber takes off a lot of pressure, since he'll be able to make things really shine. thus, the pacing item is us finishing vocals.

    we are seeking to be reasonable with our new baby coming -- thus we don't anticipate handing our items off to Jeremy before the new year. we hope to travel down to pow-wow with him early spring. his end of the project should take about a month, so we could see the album reaching completion sometime in the spring, Lord willing.

  • our hope is to give a more personal, organic chance to bring this album to life. we love the kickstarter platform, but have felt that it leans into a time-sensitive pressure that--personally--we wanted to not have. if the Lord wills the album to come together, we trust it will!

  • this has been a true journey, especially for our hearts.

    music is so intertwined in our marriage, so we always covet prayers for God to protect us, draw us together, and bear fruit in and through us.

    but the big thing has been our wrestling with what GOD wants with wind and sail. Not what we want. i (graham) have felt really convicted about a heart that wants people to pay attention to me rather than point people to Jesus.

    to that end, the prayer would be that God sanctifies us. we'd rather let go of something precious to us (our plans, our songs, etc) rather than settle for less of His fullness in our lives.

    walking the line between being sinners needing to be brought under the word and trusting God's grace to do something beautiful through us is seriously the core prayer.

    also, we'd pray for wisdom and efficacy with seeking to really let wind and sail be a beautiful pathway for disciple-making and service. this life is short. Christ's call is clear. we want whatever we do to be seeking the lost, helping the poor, and encouraging/sending the saved.

thank you

thank you

We so appreciate you diving into the story of Hero’s Heart. Thank you for considering giving to make this music a reality.

We view this music as personal, so we wanted to reach out to you personally to request your partnership.

We also view this music as missional, so we wanted to cast the vision and invite you in so we can do this together.

Who knows? Maybe the Lord will do something beautiful through Hero’s Heart!

~~~

Feel free to drop us a note below if you have any questions or thoughts about the project!