Learning to Lose, the RKT Records debut album from The Turning, emphasizes the importance of handing our lives over to God when it counts. With a clean balance of rock and slower tunes, The Turning uses powerful lyrics and catchy guitar riffs to grab the listeners with this amazing album.

"Never Again" is a perfect first track for the album, proclaiming that Christians will never again look at their past and want to go back. It describes the love that God gives so freely as a "love that heals the wounds inside of me." The incredible guitar riffs make track one a catchy tune.

"Never Again" rolls right into a melody of the comfort of God, "Home to You," which then leads into the first single off the album, "Out of My Hands." The track begins with a fun Chopsticks-like intro, but gets right to the point: God saves us from ourselves. All our dreams and all our plans, nothing is what it seems, and "everything that I've held is out of my hands."

Track five is full of powerful words leading to the truth that we are all afraid to admit. The emotional song "Numb" tells the story of how desensitized we become to the many tragedies that occur around the world, and how sometimes, God needs to break our hearts to get us back into check.

The album slows down a bit halfway through with a look to the hope of a life in heaven. "Change" exclaims, "someday I'll fly so far away, run into Your arms and be in Your embrace."

"Lift You Down" is a different tune than the rest of the album. The chorus reminds me of something Phil Joel would sing. It has a great sound with lyrics that explain that during the search for something more, one realizes that they're stuck "between where you jump and where you're landing, sight and sound will lift you down."

Learning to Lose speeds up again for "Everything Matters," a song describing the power of love, and the fact that "loving one another is all that really matters." The CD slows again for the next track, a beautiful dedication to God in the piano-driven song "For You."

Track 11, "In My Mind," is growing to be my favorite off the album. It's an upbeat, motivational song that pushes us all to get moving in our walk with Christ. God has given us all the tools we need, and it's our turn to not give up, exclaiming, "I'm ready to go!"

The album ends on a slight weak note with the sound of "My Heart is Free." However, the words are good encouragement to end on. Though the album slows back down for this, The Turning explains that our hearts are free when we let Him in, in both rough times, and not-so-rough times.

Hardly new to the CCM Industry, The Turning has two albums under their belt, but Learning to Lose is a great one to make their major label debut with. Everyone should enjoy this album, especially fans of Switchfoot. Check out The Turning's Myspace at www.myspace.com/theturning to listen to selected songs, and purchase their debut album, Learning to Lose, at the MusicChristian.com link below.