Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Having secured a national distribution deal, US singer/songwriter Sean Smith has reissued his 2005 debut album after having been nominated for multiple Momentum Awards. With renowned producer Phil Naish (Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant) at the helm, 'Real' is a suitably slick affair that has no problems fitting into the Nashville fold. Vocally, Smith provides a good performance amidst a backdrop of sophisticated musicianship that one would expect from this arm of the CCM industry. Having co-written nine out of the 10 songs on offer here, Smith's material is very much God centred and reflects on the effect Jesus has had on his life with the title track depicting a longing for true reality that only God can bring. Elsewhere, "Called Because I Can" humbly sets out the fact that we are not called to work for God because of our own abilities but through God's grace. Occasional unfortunate forays into schmaltz with the likes of the saccharine "Words Of Grace" and "A Lifetime's Worth" rather let the project down while despite the attempt of the anthemic "The Edge Of Forever" to lift the pace, this is a rather pedestrian, if polished, album.

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