Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

Blackpool-based husband and wife team Keith and Jenny Raby have been writing and performing songs together for a number of years, and this debut album presents nine self-penned worship songs with two traditional hymn arrangements. Alongside this there is a poignant story about a father sacrificing his son for others and a Gospel call, both narrated by Tony Anthony. Stylistically in the "light folk pop with a touch of country" zone, the songs are mostly of praise and of confidence in the Lord, declaring "You're my Saviour King, you're my everything," "How marvellous your ways and deeds," "I will love him with all my soul, put my life in his hands." Musically the arrangements are straightforward, the majority centred around Keith's guitar playing. However, apart from a couple of exceptions (eg, "Waiting For You Lord") it's disappointingly wooden; whilst you might say the timing is pretty tight, the drums, bass and guitar often sound like quantised, looped phrases, resulting in a dearth of expression and sense of flow. The same applies to the fairly cheesy synth patches used for strings and brass. Where we do have some expression is with Jenny's vocals. Jenny has a strong voice and sings with energy, although tuning is not always spot on. Also, at times there is a harsh edge to the sound of her voice that could perhaps be reduced with some careful EQ, turning it into more of a quirk.

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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