Reviewed by Andy Shaw

Apalog is a Yorkshire-based alternative electronic music project and 'This Is How We Know What Love Is' is their debut album. It is an ambitious concept album covering the life of Jesus from his birth on opener "BC/AD" through his death ("Golgotha") and resurrection ("Early In The Morning"). The instrumentation helps to produce an evocative atmosphere through each stage of the journey from the climactic finale to "Water Walker" exclaiming "surely he is the Son of God" to the reflective "Parable". There are a number of instrumental tracks on the record such as "Dark (On The Mount)" which as the name suggests provides a hauntingly eerie interlude. When present the vocals blend well with the instrumentation and I think are at their best with minimal effects on "Arriving". On other tracks such as the vocoder heavy "Light (When You Call)" the vocals don't have the same impact. In production there is a fine line to tread between making it too simple and overcomplicating the arrangements. I think if anything, sometimes Apalog err on the side of too simple with tracks like "Unstoppable" not quite capturing the imagination. Overall though 'This Is How. . .' does a great job of painting a picture of the life of Jesus creating a soundscape that captures the imagination.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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