From Josh Jackson (Make Sure):

I found Kevin’s music during a tough season in my life. His songs were exactly what I needed to hear. The twinkly guitars and laid-back songwriting was the perfect formula to speak to my soul. I have never come away from Kevin’s music feeling discouraged. It is always uplifting, and that’s not because he uses copious amounts of reverb or any kind of studio trickery, so as to hypnotize me into emotional bliss-- quite the opposite. Kevin likes to keep things organic. In most cases, he finds a righteous electric guitar tone, and writes a psalm. There is nothing overtly show-offy about his music. I appreciate this, because so many groups in the math-rock genre are exhausting to listen to. Not Kevin, though. He leaves an appropriate amount of breathing room for the listener to meditate on spiritual truths woven into his lyrics.

Still, make no mistake: Kevin’s songs are really hard to play. The man plays in open tunings and riffs all over the place. The more I listened, the more I liked his style. So it got me thinking. I eventually presented the idea to Kevin about doing a split EP, and I was grateful that he agreed. “Coming Home” is one of the most challenging songs I’ve ever learned, not only because the movements are tricky, but also because there are so many sections. It was an exciting process to cover that song.

A good song lyric has the power to positively affect my entire day. “I’m coming back home again, to who I really am. I was a slave to every other opinion.” From the opening line of “Coming Home,” it’s easy to see that an actual human wrote the song. We haven’t gotten but two lines into the song, and the singer admits to his own weakness! The music of Ezekiel Songs is vulnerable, and true to human experience. Living for the affirmation of other people will rot you from the inside-out. The song “Coming Home” seems to understand that very well, on a personal level. Kevin sings from a place of humility. He’s acquainted with real pain, and yet, he still sings about living his life for Christ, in the face of real pain. He chooses to focus on his true identity, as a child of God. “I want deep success that flows out from inside.” Lyrics like this inspire me, and remind me that this earthly life of mine isn’t all there is. Planet Earth in 2020 is not my final destination. I have a true home to look forward to.

To anyone who receives this music, I hope you are encouraged. Thank you for listening.

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From Kevin Skillern (Ezekiel Songs):

It’s not often that you can find unique, exquisite indie rock accompanied by spiritual depth and devotion, something I’m always searching for out there. So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered Make Sure. Josh’s music delivers on all accounts.

As I began listening to Josh’s “Walk Home Instead,” there was so much to dig into. So many layers of incredible musicianship, and that spiritual element jumping out at me in his relatable lyrics and storytelling along the way. I couldn’t get enough of the beautiful soundscapes he created and the catchy guitar licks on songs like “Deal Breakers” and “Getaway Car.”

I had reached out to Josh a couple times to let him know how I admired his work. I’d been thinking about all we had in common in our work and had a passing thought about how cool it would be to do a joint project. Low and behold, Josh reached out to me about doing a split. So I jumped at the opportunity!

As I’ve come to know Josh better, his heart is much the same as mine when it comes to music and life. “I wanna go where You send me. I want to see You moving me,” as he says in “Hearing Yourself.” Josh has become a great friend and brother in Christ through the making of this EP, and I hope you’re as blessed as I am by what we’ve made together.