Reviewed by Peter Small

Skipping the mercifully short "Heaven"-poetic cosmic symbolism unexpectedly turns into science lesson accompanied by 'meaningful' ballady piano. You eventually get to "Laughter", the nearest the album gets to developing an attitude; stomping along vigorously while the guitars drown in a sea of effects and scream and yell accordingly. "Truly Helpless" is a fair tune wrapped around '90s beats and less of the same guitar and "Under Lock And Chain" and the title track are pleasant enough too. Atmospheric guitar playing lifts "Pretty Blue Things" out of the ordinary and makes "In The Heart Of God" really quite good. However, "The Secret World Forever" sounds like dilute Yes and elsewhere there are hints of latent prog rock tendencies. As in most US Christian label releases it's generally well turned out (members of The Choir produce and play) and Ric, who of course is best known for his work with the Altar Boys, sings distinctively enough and sometimes does pleasingly odd things with his guitar. But too often this sounds like an ordinary songwriter with mild delusions of indiedom. Not well-crafted enough to be a really great singer-songwriter's album but lacking the character to be properly alternative. It's OK, though.

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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