During the season of the Elephants another two albums were recorded. The first of those two, the Birds, have waited for the perfect time for release...while the Elephants were heavy, foot-tromping and maddeningly good, the Birds promise a bit of flight and a bit of fancy...there may, however be a couple of crazy Ostrich tracks mixed in!

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Andy Whitman of Christianity Today reviews: "Aaron Strumpel worships as if his life is hanging in the balance. Like his breakthrough 2008 album Elephants, Vespers mostly borrows its lyrics from the Psalms and its sound from a raw mix of strident folk, wailing trumpet, and clattering percussion. As befitting its title, this six-song EP is slightly more quiet and contemplative, but it is no less visceral or moving. "Born Again" builds to a glorious crescendo of praise, while "I Sing" moves from a pensive piano ballad expressing fear and doubt to a nearly symphonic plea for God to storm a hardened heart. These are urgent prayers for the close of day."

There is a tenderness in the water of the heart, a vulnerability of sanity, a mere film separating joy and sadness...these songs were written on afternoons when everything seemed to close in, beauty felt like ashes, when all that was left was to sink deeper and deeper...

Written on two separate days, on a creaky old 1940′s Parlor guitar, spending about an hour each day, a chronicle of the heart and thoughts put into songs and evening prayers.

Each half was recorded in a 24 hour period of time, everything being performed by Aaron, the main instruments being an old Harmony Bobkat, a 1940's Collegiate Parlor guitar, a 1972 Rhodes 73, a Chickering Baby Grand, a 1970's Ludwig kick drum, snare, and floor tom, a set of tire chains, a string of Arabian wedding bells, and cookie sheets scraped along a bicycle chain.

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Elephants won Calvin College's 2009 Festival of Faith and Art's Bandspotting Competition: "This is the clear winner. The singing is heartfelt, honest and highly unique…a voice of earnest longing. The production is highly original and simultaneously melodic and aggressive when need be. It is rare that I hear such clearly communicated Gospel music that is soulful, articulate and adventurous." -Michael Kaufmann, Asthmatic Kitty Records and Andy Whitman, Paste Magazine and Christianity Today.

“The album title is fitting as most tracks are interlaced with deep drum stomps, rough-skinned backing loops and Aaron’s own trumpet. The sound is experimental, but with purpose, folk rock based but uniquely integrated with a variety of instrumentation; it carries an element of abstraction to it with soul that bleeds through the vocals...and with the strength of an Elephant, you were going to be moved whether you originally wanted to or not.” -Justin Boyer, Relevant Magazine

"'Elephants' is an acoustic smorgasbord of spiritual musings with prophetic and operatic overtones that insist on being listened to again and again to be fully understood and appreciated. There is weeping and wailing-- literally--amidst shouts and cries of joy." -Kris Rasmussen, Beliefnet

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This is the second album in a unique volume within the greater Worship Circle series. It is a raw recording of one artist and one instrument with no overdubs and no polished studio production. The goal is to let the artist be both accessible and vulnerable. This recording is an unapologetic conversation with God, and it has the power to lead the listener on a journey to protest, adore, discover, and relocate inside of that conversation. Musically, it might be compared to artists like Damien Rice or Ryan Adams, but it would be wise to listen to Aaron with new ears--there is no one quite like him.

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