“When everything goes wrong, the world-Oh, the world needs a song,” says the chorus of “The World Needs a Song,” the title track to The Lore Family’s new album for Horizon Records, and as Darren Lore—father and founder of the family quartet—observes, that’s a message that is at once a timeless expression of faith and a message that could have been inspired by a multitude of present-day headlines.

“As our family planned to record this project, we had no idea what would unfold in 2020,” he notes. “But God in His infinite knowledge knew what the world would be facing. The heaviness and heartache the world would experience was unlike anything we’d ever been through. Still, nothing ever takes God by surprise. There is no struggle, situation, season or storm that catches Him off guard. He is always watching over the world. He is able and willing to comfort and guide His children through dark and confusing times. Great Is His Faithfulness.”

Keeping that wisdom firmly in their sights, the Family—Darren, wife Sandy, and their children, Samuel and Fayth along with Fayth’s husband, Jake—persevered, and the result is a collection that offers the single, unchanging message of God’s grace through a masterful variety of sounds that range from country-flavored arrangements through echoes of African-American church styles to songs that lift up the majesty of the gospel message with the grandeur of intricate orchestral settings.

Opening with the joyous piano, fiddle and banjo of the title track, The World Needs a Song—co-written and sung by Darren—the project moves briskly through a set of songs that features each family member in turn, with Fayth taking the lead on the soulful “I Bring You Jesus,” Samuel taking command of the majestic “Hope Arose,” and Sandy offering the tender, yet ultimately powerful ballad, “Great Is His Faithfulness.” From there, the musical focus shifts to arrangements that feature pairs of leads, including “You Love, I’ll Judge” (Fayth and Samuel), “Dark Night Of The Soul” (Darren and Sandy), “Would Someone Go Summon The Angels” (Samuel and Darren) and “We Remember” (Samuel and Fayth), before closing out with a brief but spirited reprise of “The World Needs A Song.” The result is a musical journey that highlights the abundance of talent in the family—and their devotion to a message of hope and deliverance.

“My family prayerfully selected the songs for this project during the first few months of the pandemic,” Darren reveals. “Even the title-cut idea came about while praying with my co-writers. We felt our calling was to inspire and encourage the world. And we wanted each song to flow with that theme. Through the guidance and professionalism of Horizon’s Greg Bentley and our producer, Roger Talley, we feel that our family came up with a project that will bring hope and joy to lives for years to come.”