“There is much to lament [in American society], in Meder’s view. But there is still a shared American life to celebrate, and anyone — with faith or none — can practice hope as a spiritual discipline.” - Lucinda Breeding-Gonzales

“New American Hymnal is strong and commanding…Meder has created compelling compositions and brought together a great quartet performing non-religious songs of worship which directly address our American civic and cultural experiment.” - Anna Steegmann

‘New American Hymnal’ makes the Jazziz Editor’s Choice for late October 2023 releases, alongside albums of Samara Joy, Aaron Diehl, Joey Alexander, John Scofield, and others.

John Chacona for AAJ writes: "Hymn tunes are having a bit of a moment…Meder goes a step further by making the communal nature of hymn-singing a metaphor for the current state of society in the United States…Sing Hallelujah!”

S. Victor Aaron writes: “Meder has made records touching on the topic of religion. These aren’t religious records, they are pondering, probing and practiced records…the whole quartet seems to be having so much fun just testifyin’ that you could almost forget there’s a thoughtful melody being played, here…”