Reviewed by Catherine E Francis

My heart sinks when yet another worship album lands on my mat for review.  It’s not that I have an aversion to worship – far from it.  But I can’t be the only one who’s frustrated by the endless stream of clone worship albums pouring onto the market, churning out the same songs, in identical styles, with recycled clichés for lyrics.  I can’t help wondering if these albums are really about bumping up record company profits.  Rant over – what about this latest offering?  Well, ‘Freedom’ is faultlessly led by Michael Hanson, Loralee Thiessen and Kelly Carpenter at the Living Word Fellowship in Southbay, Southern California (I haven’t worked out where the Café bit comes in).  The “intimate worship experience” promised on the cover didn’t really materialise for me, but it’s a well put-together (if rather anaemic) offering, with an occasional touch of bluegrass and jazzy charm.  Most of the songs are a few years old, according to the dates on the cover, but the majority are new to me, so maybe they haven’t yet reached this side of the pond.  If you’re looking for new songs for worship at your own church, you could do worse than ‘Freedom’.  But you could also do better.  Nice cover, mind.