Reviewed by Tim Holden

Previously the one-time Newsboys man gave us solo albums of acoustic-orientated music and children's songs but here Phil rocks out. From the distorted and feedback laden guitar intro of the opening "Shout" to the stadium filling but slightly quirky "Pink Elephant", this album shouts classic rock with the volume up at 11. 'The New Normal' is Phil's fifth solo album and the third that he has produced himself for deliberatePeople, so he really does know what he is doing and it shows. The songs are well written, musically interesting and with some deep and telling lyrics. And for classic rock this isn't in the least one dimensional, twisting and turning to throw in "Best Thing" that would not be out of place being sung by Girls Aloud, followed by "DWYL (Dont Waste Your Life)" which has a minute-long soundbite montage for an introduction. This is followed by "You Belong To Me", a beautiful, vocal heavy ballad reminding us that we belong to God, before heading back into more mainstream rock territory with "New Normal" possibly the outstanding track on this album. A rich album.

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