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Derek Webb with Matthew Mayfield and Cool Hand Luke

Presented by Rocketown at Rocketown

December 12, 2009

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Singer-songwriter Derek Webb's recent release, Stockholm Syndrome, finds Webb once again facing debate head on. The album is the most provocative and stirring release of his storied career and Webb partners the much-anticipated release with a 20-date tour and a DVD documentary of the project.

Stockholm Syndrome delivers everything listeners have come to expect from Derek Webb: killer pop hooks and lyrics as thought provoking as they are emotionally revealing. Sonically, however, this record is a radical departure for Webb, who has left his acoustic, folk/rock roots behind for a sound he describes as "intentionally inorganic." Webb co-produced Stockholm Syndrome with former Caedmon's Call bandmate Josh Moore, a producer who in recent years has lent his ear to hip-hop recording projects.

Together, Webb and Moore have succeeded in creating a dense, richly absorbing sonic vernacular that pays homage to an entire century of music. From 1920s jazz to 1950s doo-wop, from disco and dance music to old-school R&B, Webb uses this album as a means of exploring deep issues through the central metaphor of Stockholm Syndrome, illuminating the ways in which a society can fall in love with an oppressive culture and become enslaved by it. That sound is palpable in every track from the strut of "Black Eye" and "Cobra Con" to the electropop of "Jena & Jimmy."