Reviewed by Dancin' Dave Derbyshire

As a teenager my favourite artists were Simon And Garfunkel. So I felt quite at home listening to the deep (occasionally obscure) lyrics and rather acoustic sound of this band with the name of the famed missionary to China. Each song comes with one or two Bible readings making the whole album a 10 day Bible study guide. You might find the odd mistake in the references a little frustrating. Also the links between the verses and the lyrics are not always that obvious, but at least they get you thinking. "Falling To Pieces" explores the experience of God's discipline in Hebrews 12:5-11, you know that feeling when everything is going wrong. A number of the songs tell the feelings of characters in biblical incidents: the anticipation of reaching Canaan's land. Esau's sense of betrayal by his brother. "Brother Calvin" recalls how Calvin sentenced Michael Servetus to be burned at the stake for heresy, an incident that I had heard mentioned once before, but not something with which many people will be familiar. The rather downbeat choice of topics continues with "Doom Room", tackling the subject of hell; there is a slightly heavier "Dirge" and the subject of Christian persecution and martyrdom is tackled. Even the song "Happy" is actually about a yet unfulfilled desire for happiness. Yet in all this I found some beautiful instrumental moments. There is a change of pace with title track of "The Locust Grove". This is a song of hope and rebirth as the land ravaged by locusts blooms again, which leads us into the final track about ploughing the promised land. Overall, a very interesting musical exploration of quite a range of emotions deeply rooted in the Bible.

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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