Reviewed by Phil Thomson

This a silly ruse, exuding all the clunky ingenuity of a fairground ride: a contemporary reworking of the psalms given an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink treatment by a London-based artist. It's techno-friendly fey funk, peppered with soap-ad harmonies, bland, uncertain lead vocals and very convoluted arrangements - all courtesy of Mr Fawcett who plays everything and sings everything and surprise, surprise, writes everything; I'm sure he'd stop short of claiming the words. Take "I Love The Lord" a smoochy, louche lounge version of Psalm 116 or "Taste And See" (Psalm 34) with its excruciating vocal around ". . .in all their distress" - there just isn't the voice for the aspiration. It is either spectacularly inventive and daring or third rate holiday camp. What's at stake is this; you can't escape the gimmickry - I mean '. . . let God arise.' with birdie twitters and a megaphone vocal ("Arise" (68)) - and what else. . . oh yes, we have to use a vocoder, we haven't featured one of those yet. It's all terribly forgivable in its style over content sort of way, simply because it is inventive and occasionally the inspiration breaks through. The high point (yes, there is one) is the bright and brassy "God Is King" (96). Maybe he is in danger of trivialising such rich lyrical material, but then, Edwin Fawcett 'live', visual and theatrical might just restore the gravitas. So bad I liked it.

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