Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Back in the 1960’s when hair was long, flares were wide and Britain’s Christian music scene was new, churches everywhere festooned their crypts or halls with fishnets, and booked Christian beat groups, or if their budget didn’t run to that, acoustic singer/songwriters, with a sound not dissimilar to that heard here. Now, don’t get me wrong. Julian Shortman is 26, not 56. But there’s only so much you can do musically with a so-so voice, an acoustic guitar and a batch of simple, often wistful songs. But having little or no production beyond a truly acoustic, keeps you focused on the lyrics. And lyrically, Julian has considerable talent. Try “Let The Wounds Be Healed Now” examining our tendency to inadvertently hurt others. Or “Inequality” pointing out that if you’re given much, much will be expected of you. Occasionally a black humour pokes through “Half Attractive” about a particularly ugly young lady. But most of the songs here are well-crafted evocations of faith, hearteningly lacking religious cliché. Another bonus of this album is that Julian wisely borrowed a decent mike for the recording, so despite it literally emanating from the smallest room in the Shortman household, it thankfully avoids that nasty, tinny sound of most home-produced demos. I hope we hear more from Julian. He’s clearly a songwriter with a luminously honest take on music.

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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