Provident Music Group

Brandon Lake's 'King Of Hearts' is an ambitious 16-track worship album with sky-high production and a handful of standout collaborations, including a genuine crossover moment with Jelly Roll. The 15-week number one 'That's Who I Praise' anchors a project that swings between arena anthems and intimate ballads. At $15, it's a solid pickup for worship leaders and die-hard fans, though the back half drags and some tracks feel like safe retreads. Worth it for the highlights, but you might not play it front to back.

Let's talk about the actual sound. The production on 'King Of Hearts' is a noticeable step up from Lake's earlier work. Tracks like 'SEVENS' hit with a wall of sound that feels designed for a live arena, with layered vocals and a driving beat that lands in the upper tier of what you'd expect from a big-budget CCM release. The collaboration with Hulvey brings a hip-hop energy that's rare in this genre, and it works surprisingly well. The audio quality itself is clean and modern, though our database puts it at the 16th percentile, which is more a reflection of comparing a CD master to lossless high-res audio gear than a knock on the mixing.

Where the album stumbles is in its pacing. The back half loses some steam, with a few slower worship tracks blending together. 'The Half Has Not Been Told' is beautiful but feels like a retread of territory Lake has covered before. The standout moments are when he takes risks, like the raw, spoken-word vulnerability in 'Daddy's DNA' or the genre-blending 'Hard Fought Hallelujah.' Those tracks show an artist pushing boundaries. The rest is solid, well-produced worship music that will play great in a church service but might not demand your attention on a focused listen.

Stacking this up against other products in our database is a little absurd, but let's do it. The PERLESMITH PSCM2 is a TV mount, and 'King Of Hearts' has a 29th percentile display score, which means a TV mount technically has a better picture than this CD. That's a meaningless comparison, but it highlights that our scoring system is built for gadgets, not gospel albums. The real competition is other recent worship releases. Compared to something like Elevation Worship's latest, Lake's album is more sonically adventurous but less consistent. The Jelly Roll track alone gives it a unique edge that no other worship artist is touching right now.

Against his own catalog, 'King Of Hearts' is a natural progression but not a revolution. 'COAT OF MANY COLORS' felt like a breakthrough moment with tighter songwriting and a clearer identity. This album reaches further but grasps less. The collaborations are the differentiator here. If you're comparing it to a book like 'Rock Me on the Water,' well, one is about 1974 Los Angeles and one is about Jesus. Different lanes entirely. But within the world of CCM, Lake is still one of the most exciting voices, even when the project feels a bit overstuffed.

At $15 for a 16-track album, the price per song is less than a dollar, which is about standard for a new release in this format. You're getting the radio smash 'That's Who I Praise' and the Jelly Roll collaboration, which alone have probably racked up millions of streams. If you're a Brandon Lake fan who's been waiting for the follow-up to 'COAT OF MANY COLORS,' this is a no-brainer pickup. The physical CD also makes a solid gift for the worship leader or church volunteer in your life.

Compared to other recent CCM releases, the pricing is right in line. You're not getting ripped off, but you're also not getting a deluxe edition with bonus content at this price point. The value really depends on how much you connect with Lake's voice and songwriting. If half the album ends up in your regular rotation, it's money well spent. If you're only here for the singles, streaming might be the smarter move.

Brandon Lake is back with 'King Of Hearts,' his fourth studio album and the follow-up to the massive 'COAT OF MANY COLORS.' If you've spent any time in a contemporary church over the last few years, you've heard his songs. This 16-track project tries to build on that momentum, pulling in a wild mix of collaborators from gospel legend Cece Winans to country star Jelly Roll. It's an ambitious swing, aiming to be both a worship soundtrack and a crossover moment.

Here's the thing about this album: it's a collection of moments rather than a cohesive statement. The tracklist jumps from the aggressive, almost rock-infused opener 'SEVENS' to the quiet, personal reflection of 'Daddy's DNA.' Lake is clearly trying to show range, and when it hits, it really hits. 'That's Who I Praise' already proved its staying power with a 15-week run at radio number one, and the Jelly Roll collaboration 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' is a genuine, gritty highlight that feels different from anything else in the worship space.

But this is a music album, not a TV or a surge protector, and our scoring system is built for tech. So when you see scores like an 8.3 out of 100 for sports or a 7 for movies, just know that's our database trying to make sense of a CD in a world of GPUs and monitors. The real story here is the music itself, and for fans of modern worship, there's a lot to dig into. For everyone else, it's a mixed bag of soaring highs and a few tracks that feel like filler.

If you're looking for a quiet, acoustic worship album to play in the background, this isn't it. The production is big and modern, and tracks like 'SEVENS' are intentionally loud and in-your-face. You'd be better off with something like Shane & Shane or a stripped-down live worship recording. Also, if you're not a fan of genre-blending in your worship music, the Jelly Roll and Hulvey collaborations might feel like distractions rather than highlights. This album is for people who want their worship music to sound like it belongs on a big stage with a full production budget. If that's not your thing, Brandon Lake's earlier, simpler work might connect more.

If you're a worship leader looking for new material for your congregation, 'King Of Hearts' is a goldmine. Tracks like 'That's Who I Praise' and 'Great I Am Can' are built for corporate singing, and the lyrics are consistently Jesus-centered without getting too theologically niche. You'll find at least five or six songs that could slot into a Sunday morning setlist immediately. The production is modern enough to engage a younger crowd without alienating the older folks.

For the casual listener who just wants a good album to put on, this is a tougher sell. The 16-track length means you'll probably find yourself skipping a few songs after the first listen. The highlights are genuinely high, but the filler is noticeable. If you're new to Brandon Lake, start with 'COAT OF MANY COLORS' to understand the hype, then come back to this one for the standout collaborations. It's a good album with moments of greatness, not a great album all the way through.