Changing lead singers is frequently a career killer for successful bands. Some groups continue to record and tour but find that only the core fans still pay attention, while others disband due to a lost chemistry. Among the few that have successfully made the transition work is Newsboys, who saw original vocalist John James exit in the late ‘90s and drummer Peter Furler step into the position. When Furler announced last year that he, too, would be leaving, the question became whether or not the band could survive a second frontman change.

Taking a page from the Van Halen rule book, who replaced David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar, Newsboys elected to fill the position with a known name and invited dc Talk veteran Michael Tait to join. Judging by the pairing’s first release, Born Again, the group may have actually beat the odds twice.

By no means is Born Again a perfect album but it has enough right about it to classify it as one of the best releases to come out of the group.

Musically, the band is exploring some new areas but nothing that would seem out of line with the group’s past offerings. Through the course of the 12-song set, Tait and crew meander between hard rock and electro-pop but maintain a sense of authenticity that keeps the collection sounding cohesive. Much of that may be due to the amazingly catchy tracks and Tait’s vocals are so adept at selling the material.

Furler’s absence, however, can be noticed in the album. Even prior to taking over vocal duties, Furler was the primary lyricist in the band and it’s a role in which he excelled. With his departure, the depth and cleverness of Newsboys lyrics is missing. Sure, Tait has jumped in and cowrote much of the album but it’s an area where he’s still growing after years of allowing Toby McKeehan to do the bulk of the writing in dc Talk. Without a strong songwriter in the fold, many of the lyrics come across generic or cheesy. It’s likely that the average listener won’t even notice the deficiency, though, because the band delivers the material with such passion that it’s hard to notice the flaws.

One of the big questions of the album is the inclusion of a cover of “Jesus Freak.” Maybe it was intended as a nod to Tait’s past but it seems to be a questionable choice. While it’s a passable take on the song, the definitive version has been done and this new attempt doesn’t really bring much new to the track. If the homage was really necessary, it would have been much preferable to have included a live version of the mega-hit or, even, found a less known dc Talk song to redo.

Despite the couple of missteps, Born Again is an enjoyable listen and speaks well for the future of Newsboys 3.0.