Elim Hall was a fairly obscure alternative band that – believe it or not – was signed to Reunion Records in 1986. Their debut release Things Break pretty much sounded like nothing else that was on Reunion or any other major CCM label at the time. Their sound was heavily influenced by early U2 – and I don’t mean Actung Baby. This album was out before Joshua Tree – so think really, really early U2 (as well as other early 80s alternative bands). In 1990, the band released an independent cassette called Let It Thrive and then called it a day. Both of those albums were combined by the band and released as a CD-R collection in 2003 through their website. I recently contacted Glen Teeple and found that they do have some copies left. The packaging is a bit DIY around the edges, but you could probably honestly ship the whole thing off to a major label and have them manufacture it and it would look professional. Well – they might need to update some of the technology on the CD-ROM enhanced section – I have a hard time getting some things to open – but I could still see the video. This is a great obscure gem for those that like what was kicking around in the early to mid 80s underground. I can’t guarantee that it will be available forever – so be sure to grab a copy while you can.
What a real breath of fresh air elim Hall’s “Things Break” was when it was first released way back in 1986. With a sound that borrowed heavily from bands like The Police, The Outfield, Duran Duran, and the already mentioned U2, they introduced something to CCM that had never been heard before or since. But because their lyrics dealt with things like loss, science, longing, and death, they didn’t quite fit into the syrupy-sweet musical mold that most most Christian radio stations were looking to play. Consequently, their music was overlooked by far too many in spite of all the critical praise it received at the time. It’s been twenty-five years since “Things Break” was first released, and it still finds its way through my iPod on a regular basis. And when it does, I always turn the volume up a few notches and find myself tapping my foot and bobbing my head along to some great tunes. It is that good! If you don’t have any elim Hall in your collection, don’t miss this opportunity to add some truly classic CCM to your mix.