''The Way Home'' is the debut studio album by American

contemporary worship Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many w ...

duo

The McClures The McClures are an American contemporary worship duo composed of musicians Paul McClure and Hannah McClure. The duo released their debut studio album, '' The Way Home'', on August 30, 2019, through Bethel Music. The album spawned the singles "N ...

Bethel Music Bethel Music is an American music label and worship movement from Redding, California, originating out of Bethel Church (Redding, California), Bethel Church where they started making music in 2001. Bethel Music has grown from being a local church ...

released the album on August 30, 2019. The album contains guest appearances by

Rita Springer Marguerita Estell "Rita" Springer (born April 17, 1967) is an American Christian musician, who primarily plays a style of contemporary worship music and Christian pop music. She has released twelve studio albums, ''Love Covers'' (1995), ''All I ...

and David Leonard. The album was produced by David Leonard. The album was supported by the release of "Now I See", "Only Have One", and "Reign Above It All" as singles. The album debuted at number 36 on the US

Top Christian Albums Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

chart.

Background

The McClures initially announced that they would be released their debut studio album, ''The Way Home'', at the 2019 WorshipU conference hosted by

. The album began the songwriting process for the album at a Nashville retreat in December 2016, as the duo enlisted songwriters like Joel Taylor,

Seth Mosley Seth David Mosley (born October 17, 1987) is an American Christian musician and record producer, who plays Christian pop and Christian rock. He was the frontman for the Christian alternative rock band Me in Motion. Mosley was awarded the Songwr ...

Matt Hammitt Matt Hammitt (born October 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was the lead singer for Sanctus Real, which has released seven studio albums with Sparrow Records, toured internationally and released 14 top five ...

Mia Fieldes Mia Leanne Cherie Fieldes (born 29 January 1983), is an Australian Christian musician. Her first album, ''There's a Reason'', was released by herself in 2009. She signed with Provident Label Group, where their imprint Essential Worship, release ...

and Ethan Hulse among others. The album was recorded at the Layman Drug Company in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The title of the album, ''The Way Home'' comes from the title track, which the duo had originally written with Josh Baldwin for his album. Paul McClure said "He osh Baldwinplayed it a lot, and every time he played it, he said to us, "It feels like your song." It was a last-minute addition and we didn’t even think of it being the title track until we were in Nashville. It's the theme of our season because we are returning home and remembering who we are and these songs are a reflection of that. We recorded that song first and it set the direction for the rest of the songs."

Music and lyrics

Paul McClure described the album as a blend of "

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

," reflecting the duo's North Carolinian roots.

Release and promotion

The McClures made announced their career debut on

with the release of "Now I See" on July 12, 2019, as the lead single from ''The Way Home''. "Now I See" was impacted

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...

in the United States on August 9, 2019. On August 16, 2019, The McClures released "Only Have One" as the second single from ''The Way Home''. "Only Have One" debuted at number 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Christian Songs Chart dated September 10, 2019. On February 12, 2021, the duo released "Reign Above It All" as their third single from the album.

Critical reception

In a positive review from NewReleaseToday, Mark Ryan states, "''The Way Home'' is less a typical corporate worship album and more of a personal time of prayer and reflection album and it is in these personal times where we can stop and hear the voice of God as he gently whispers to us to give us the direction we need in our lives." Gateway News' Luchae Williams gave a positive review of the album, saying "Through this album, the McClures have found a way to share their testimony of a God who is in it for the long haul and always eager to help you discover the way home."

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''The Way Home'' debuted at number 36 on the ''Billboard''

chart dated September 14, 2019. The album also launched at number 31 on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart, and number 11 on the

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

Background

Music and lyrics

Release and promotion

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

External links