Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

This is the first full album from Brisbane six piece Maverick following on from last year's debut EP. The band are obviously out to enjoy themselves and they describe their style as "music before music forgot how to be fun." The opening song "Toddler", featuring Bec Ellis on flute and Amanda King's violin, sets the spiritual tone and is effectively a parable of God's fatherhood to his children. The album as a whole reflects the upbeat feel of this song and the band seem intent on putting their obvious joy across in their music. Whilst their enthusiasm is very evident, there is a sense that songwriters Bronwyn Hart and Carrah Jordan try too hard at times and this comes across in the musical presentation of many of the songs appearing somewhat half baked. For example, "That Sound" is extremely wordy and musically distracting and, even with the sleevenote lyrics, it is hard to grasp what is being put across. Musically speaking, the production is generally on the thin side and the album is hampered by some tinny piano despite Hart's obvious talent. To give Maverick their credit, they do attempt to integrate some fairly complex ideas into their arrangements (check out the subtle Pink Panther riff in "Hear The Music") but the band and production both need to be a lot tighter for this to be pulled off effectively. Having said this, "Your Love" is a superb track and is a cut above the rest with some stunning bass and drum work complete with a mature vocal performance from Jordan - not to mention some outstanding lyrics.

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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