Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Any songwriter who has endeavoured to put his or her music to the Psalms (and there have been quite a few down the years) will know that it is a difficult task. They don't rhyme, they don't scan and they can often bring in obscure references or imagery that the modern mind tends to recoil from. So Oxford-based songwriter and guitarist Matt needs respect for making a stab at the challenge. This 2011 album was his first Psalms project and he's subsequently gone on to record two more of them. He wisely keeps to the shorter psalms (no rendition of Psalm 119 here!) and the melodies Matt has come up with seldom pass the old grey whistle test though are pleasant enough. The opener "Lead Me To The Rock" is reasonably engaging though I'd suggest that the jaunty vibe of "Be At Peace With My Soul" doesn't quite fit with some of the lines of Scripture (eg, "The chords of death entangled me/The anguish of the grave came upon me" NIV). Another problem is that although singer Miriam Jones has a pleasant enough voice, it's nothing particularly special and is rather exposed when all she has for accompaniments is guitar. I've been told that the second and third albums in Matt's Psalms project up the anti in terms of production and vocal performances. That's good for, in truth, too much of 'Now And Not Yet' sounds like a demo.

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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