Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Great Barr, Birmingham, is not, I feel, the most obvious place to look if you want to connect with good country music, but Inheritance have been struttin' their stuff (or is that slappin' their knees?) since 1994, having originally formed for an outreach event at Beeches Evangelical Church, which continues to be their base. This album, their third, was recorded in Rooftop Studios (actually it's guitarist/lead singer/songwriter Keith Slater's attic) and apart from Keith, the other personnel are Ian Price on lead guitar, Mark Willis on bass and mandolin and David Taylor on drums and accordion. Any thoughts that this must be lo-fi el cheapo home production allied with enthusiastic but amateurish attempts to play country music must be banished at once; Keith has a deft touch with a song (of the 16 tracks here, totalling a bumper 65 minutes of run time, 11 are all his own work, with music credits on two more) and it's cringe free stuff, with the rest of the band giving worthy support. Highlights are a country reading of Stevie Wonder's "Have A Talk With God", a wistful cover of Julie Miller's classic "Broken Things", "Hallelujah Anyway", exhorting us to praise the Lord no matter what, and a haunting new tune to W R Featherstone's old hymn "My Jesus I Love Thee, I Know Thou Art Mine". Production is bright and tight and recording quality is excellent. A former UCB album of the week, which should say something.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.