Reviewed by Steve Best

There must be something about Australia, in that it effortlessly seems to spawn gritty workmanlike rock bands such as Midnight Oil, INXS and Insomniacs Dream. This lot cite Jars Of Clay, Nickelback and U2 as influences, the latter clearly audible in the lead vocals to “She” and “Rain”. The band say they’ve spent a long time practising prior to putting this debut album together - a lesson many bands would do well to learn, since there really is no hurry when it comes to getting your work on disc. The patience has paid off, as ‘Awakening’ is well played, produced and arranged, with some nice string touches here and there, and some subtle guitar work in amongst the harder riffola (“Unusual Thing” is a nice contrast). Altogether, a good first release.

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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