Until My Heart Caves In turned out to be the final studio album by one of the longest-tenured contemporary Christian bands. Whether or not they knew the end was coming remains unclear, but a sense of finality, as well as the band's trademark resilience, could be interpreted in lyrics from "Clap Your Hands" and the title track. Indeed, the line "I can't stop until my body drops" from the opener was either foreshadowing of their hanging up the towel or sheer irony after the news surfaced in 2006 that lead vocalist Mark Stuart's "ongoing vocal challenges" were a key factor in announcing their farewell tour. Sonically, producer Jay Joyce kept an edgy, modern rock feel to this one, steering clear of the funk, rap and hip-hop that had graced previous efforts. "King" and "Starting Over" were hits, and both appeared on the band's best-of collection
Adios a year later. "Light of the Sun" had a more sustained feel à la
Delirious. It's hard to say where the band would have gone after
Heart and its 2003 predecessor
Worldwide, but it would be tough to argue that this final output allowed them to go out on top. The only misgiving might be a lack of clever, bouncy pop gems like "Big House" and "Get Down" that powered the band up the charts during the late '90s and early 2000s. ~ Jared Johnson