Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Can it really be five years since this band's debut album 'Hope'? Well, yes it can actually though I'm pleased to report it's been worth the wait! 'In The Twinkle Of An Eye' is an intriguing rock album by a band headed up by brothers Tim and Rick Hammond. Once again there's a certain touch of the eighties coming through the proceedings and the thumping opener, penned by the band's producer Alan Shacklock, sets the uncompromising spiritual tone of things asking "Who Better Than Our God?". It's all crunchy guitars and tub thumping drumming and psalm like sloganeering but there's something wonderfully engaging about it. Engaging is a good word to describe this since it manages to avoid the obvious sounds of the rock albums produced by the Nashville based labels and instead takes off into more interesting directions. The title cut points to the return of Christ and the vocal narrative of the song is rather intriguingly interrupted by a female Japanese voice who sounds like she's praying. Mind you my Japanese is a bit rusty so I'm just guessing. Other highlights include the terrific energetic rocker "Charity" where the band once again demonstrate their ability to write anthemic punch the air choruses. The bluesy "Mighty Sword" is an explosive call to battle whilst "All You Had To Do Was Ask" is like many songs here, packed with a strong inspirational spiritual message enveloped in a rock format. There's one moment that I'm not sure about which is the upbeat cover of the Curtis Mayfield evergreen "People Get Ready". While I can understand the rolling driving rhythm emulates the sound of the train mentioned in the song, I'm convinced there are some songs that are best left alone to avoid coming off badly when compared to the Impressions original. Other than that, this is another fine effort that gets the Rimmer seal of approval!

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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