Reviewed by Derek Bish

Judy Cockwell's third album is very much in the Celtic genre with lyrical tunes and simple, clear vocals. Judy plays a wonderfully diverse range of instruments beautifully and her slightly fragile voice soars throughout. Her songs call upon the natural world of sky, sea and mountains and she sings of longing, waiting and seeking in ways that speak to us all. There's nothing overtly Christian or religious about the songs here although the spiritual and heartfelt nature of Judy's music is clear. Typical are "Change The World", "Deep Sea" and "Mountains" with lyrics that reflect Judy's painful life journey. Overall, the themes are a somewhat repetitive and the use of occasional backing vocals rather than her own voice multi-tracked almost throughout would have given a bit more colour and variety to the vocals. But it's really hard to dislike this music as many of the individual songs are beautiful in their own right; but taking these 11 tracks together just felt like a bit too much of the same thing. For me the standout track was the haunting instrumental "Song For Uist".

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.