Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

The strength of singer and keyboardist Haydon Spenceley lies in his lyric writing. This debut album highlights this trait perfectly. Spenceley writes very personally about his struggles with life and faith for the most part, but also shares the stories of others. "One Day Soon" deals with the long protracted death of a mentor figure, who displayed great strength and hope throughout his illness. Spenceley turns this into a message of hope for anyone suffering pain, illness or depression: "One day soon/All this pain will fade/And I will be safe with you." Musically though, the album lacks substance and direction. Many of the songs are overly long and can merge together if you don't listen carefully to the lyrics. Many of the songs end with unnecessary keyboard flourishes. The vocals are also quite buried within the mix, whether through poor production or a lack of confidence from Spenceley in his voice. Having recruited a band during the recording of this album, there is better to come from Freeslave. Perfect evidence is the track "Save My Day", which is re-recorded for the subsequent EP of the same name much more dynamically than it appears here.

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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