It’s not every day that an EP opens with the emotional weight of someone buying a Bible and somehow, doesn’t make you roll your eyes. But God Fearing Man, the latest from Atlanta-based artist Adam Atom, is just that: a spiritual coming-of-age story disguised as a debut. And miraculously, it works.
The premise sounds like something you’d hear during the last 30 seconds of a very sincere YouTube ad: artist buys Bible in October 2024, has a spiritual reckoning, makes heartfelt music. But Atom’s gift lies in treating that arc not as a brand, but as an unfolding. The result is an EP that’s raw, musically lush, and emotionally accessible, even if you haven’t cracked open scripture since you were thirteen and vaguely afraid of hell.
Let’s start with the obvious: the self-titled opener, God Fearing Man, is probably what Kanye thought he was doing on Jesus Is King, minus the ego, and with considerably more heart. Atom sings like someone genuinely working through it in real time. Not declaring victory, but asking the right questions out loud. There’s a trembling conviction here, a voice caught between reverence and the nervous energy of someone about to change their whole life. Somehow, it sounds good.
Glory to He shifts the energy. It’s faster, brighter, and somehow doesn’t collapse under the weight of its own capital-H Holiness. Think gospel, but make it driveable. There’s joy here and it’s bolstered by a tight rhythm section (special shoutout to drummer Adam Alesi and bassist Bruno Migliari, who apparently showed up to play). The mix, handled by Asher Condit, glows without turning into a wall of inspirational mush. It’s worship music that sounds like it came from someone who’s been through it, not someone trying to sell you a T-shirt about it.
Then comes Pick Your Head Up is the part where you realize: oh, this isn’t just a Christian EP. This is a “trying to hold it together on a Tuesday afternoon while everything feels weirdly heavy” album. The hook sticks, the message lands, and Atom balances vulnerability with a kind of quiet strength that you don’t often hear outside of, like, mid-season Atlanta episodes.
And then there’s God Says Start; the finale, the full-tilt emotional fireworks show that doesn’t just close the EP, it ascends. What starts as a slow burn suddenly ignites, like a spotlight snapping on mid-solo. Atom doesn’t hold back here. His vocals rise, the instrumentation swells, and the entire track surges with the kind of conviction you only get when someone’s singing straight from their soul. It’s not a mic drop; it’s a curtain call in flames, a final, defiant leap before the lights cut out. The message? You’ve heard the story. Now get up and live it.
What’s most impressive is that God Fearing Man never veers into religious posturing or doctrinal arrogance. It’s not trying to convert you. Rather, it’s trying to connect. And in a genre (and a world) where faith often becomes spectacle, Adam Atom opts for something more radical: sincerity.
Is this the most groundbreaking EP of 2025? Probably not. But that’s not the point. God Fearing Man by Adam Atom is a document of change, a mid-step in a longer walk. It’s the sound of someone figuring out how to be new again, with grace, doubt, and a little gospel reverb. And frankly, that’s more than enough.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
