Nicole C. Mullen

By Melissa Riddle, Senior Content Strategist, GospelMusicChannel.com 

If you span the whole of Christian and gospel music, you’d be hard-pressed to find an artist with more energy and passion than Nicole C. Mullen. Her music, like her personal style, is eclectic and endearing because it comes from a place of true authenticity.

A Dream To Believe In, Vol. II, the second installment in Mullen’s very personal music trilogy and the follow-up to 2006’s Sharecropper’s Seed, moves beyond her exploration of family heritage and its impact on celebrating the everyday moments of life.
 
“This is music that celebrates the travels of life – where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going,” Mullen says of her new collection. “It says ‘let me tell where I am and where I want to go.’ It’s definitely an album of celebration. It’s one you can dance to and in the midst of your dancing, hopefully you’ll hear the message of truth.”

Produced by Nicole’s husband David Mullen, this Dream is a diverse departure from the acoustic, laid-back sounds of its predecessor. Funk, soul, pop, urban rock, power ballads – they are all here. Most fans will likely appreciate the stylistic smorgasbord, but for those just starting out, it’s a bit much to take in.

Still, the songs here are a celebration of life and faith, focusing on relationships and reconciliation between parents, husbands and wives, families and races. A simple, singable collection of fun, life-on-the-go songs from an artist who has always been an original.

If you’re looking for a “Redeemer” or “Call On Jesus” power anthem here, the closest you’ll come to is “Blessed and Broken,” a song about what God can do with ‘the least of these.’ Another song of note that beautifully showcases this Dove Award winner’s vocal talent is “Start Over Again,” a song of encouragement for struggling marriages. And “Work With Me (Dance)” will be of great cardio value to all those Women of Faith/Mullen fans that have begged her to record a workout album. A boost to the summer vacation exercise slump we all fall into this time of year.

But overall, A Dream To Believe In, Vol. II, while not Mullen’s best, is a colorful swirl of a mid-summer’s dream delight. Nothing too deep, nothing too heavy, but refreshing and honest as the day is long.

nicolemullen.com

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