AMY TURNER

Seven decades is a long time for any musical act to remain not just active, but relevant. For the Kingsmen, a southern gospel quartet whose roots stretch back to the mid-1950s, that longevity is both the subject and the occasion for their upcoming album, “Still Jesus,” due July 10 on Horizon Records.

Subtitled “A Seventieth Anniversary Celebration,” the record draws from multiple eras of the group’s history, weaving together vault recordings, newly arranged older material, and five original songs written specifically for this project. It is a broad undertaking, and one the band approached with deliberate care.

“We have always been diligent to honour our Kingsmen roots,” said guitarist Alan Kendall, “but those exact same roots also tell us that the Kingsmen have always been a forward-thinking group.” That tension between preservation and progress shapes the album’s structure. Some tracks pull from the catalogue, updated in arrangement but faithful in spirit. Others were unfamiliar to the band entirely, including a song written by Squire Parsons in 1989 that the group had never previously recorded.

The material spans a considerable sonic range. “I’ll Live Again” represents the group’s more traditional sound, while “I Forgive Your Sin” and “When Sunday Morning Dawned” feature expansive orchestration. Country-inflected tracks like “That Very Moment” and “I Stand Upon The Rock of Ages” broaden the palette further.

Songwriters contributing new material include Ronny Hinson, Kenna Turner West, Joseph Habedank, Lee Black, and Rachel McCutcheon, each of whom has had charting success in the gospel genre.

The album closes with what Kendall describes as the most iconic song in the group’s history, “Is That the Old Ship of Zion,” performed by a 19-member Kingsmen Alumni Choir drawn from across the group’s seven-decade lifespan.

Brandon Reese, who manages the group and plays drums, frames the project in terms of both family legacy and personal faith. His father, Ray Dean Reese, is a legendary figure in southern gospel music, and the younger Reese has been integral in steering the Kingsmen through recent years. “Most importantly, it is my prayer that you hear something in this album that helps you in your every day walk,” he said, “because no matter the issue, the answer is Still Jesus.”

The album is available for pre-save ahead of its July release.