In his brand-new album The Gospel According to Mark, singer Mark D. Conklin translates the word of the scripture using the international language of music to create what is undeniably one of the most harmonious and melodic releases of 2024. Consisting of twelve unique musical tracks and twelve additional excerpts from Mark, The Gospel According to Mark isn’t a modestly designed album by any measurement, but it isn’t so intimidatingly packed full of variety that it loses its general cohesiveness. Instead, Mark D. Conklin has assembled a melting pot of gorgeous melodies conceived for the sole purpose of celebrating faith, family, and love, and it couldn’t be more inviting.
URL: https://markdconklin.com/home
In a lot of ways, The Gospel According to Mark is a pretty experimental piece for being, at its core, a gospel record. Most contemporary Christian musicians don’t like to venture outside of one theme in hopes of relating a consistency of sound to the need to have consistency in our faith, but Mark D. Conklin sees and hears things a little differently than the rest of his scene does. The way he’s laid out The Gospel According to Mark tells me that he wanted to express the many vivid stories that collectively shape a larger Christian identity as belonging on a single album, and I don’t just find his creative concept fascinating but I also find it deeply moving as a person of great faith myself.
There’s a lot to love about each of these twelve musical tracks, but one relentless high point that is present in all of the songs is Conklin’s incredible voice and its inspiring emotional palate. It’s like we’re listening to one of heaven’s angels singing, and after all, who would be more qualified to deliver the word of God through the pure majesty of the song than one of His own? Whether we’re talking about “Make Way”, “Through the Storm” or “Take This Cup,” his vocals are always the star of the show, and something tells me that you could take away his backing band and he would still as incredibly touching as he is in this studio setting.
I know I’m not the first critic to say as much, but I really cannot wait to hear more from this excellently gifted musician. He’s got the wit and the wisdom to convey stories that are instantly relatable and teach a valuable lesson, and he possesses a knack for making even the most complicated and debated subjects in the world – our belief in God – sound like pop gold. I don’t know where he’s been for so many years, but now that Mark D. Conklin has finally arrived in the pop music lexicon, I don’t plan on missing a beat with anything that he develops in the future.
The Gospel According to Mark has a lot of buzz around it in the CCM community and beyond, and if the momentum surrounding his career continues to grow I can only imagine the demand for a supporting tour will be too great for him to resist.
Claire Uebelacker