Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As any followers of modern gospel will tell you, Bri, full name Brianna Babineaux, was catapulted to stardom by a friend filming on her phone Bri's impromptu performance of a gospel song and putting it on YouTube. Now this social media star is enjoying a number one gospel hit with this, her debut album and as a showcase for her impressive vocal talent, it's pretty good. After a sound montage "Intro" there follows a live "Heaven Must Be Something Like This", an inspirational ballad which gives plenty of room for Bri to soulfully emote but is way too melodramatic for my tastes. Much better is the lightly funky "Run Over" while the acoustic-guitar-and-finger snaps "My Everything" moves into an undulating bass groove. Clearly producer Korey Bowie favours the gentle start and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-climax style of production and indeed the closing of several songs here give Bri plenty of room to holler her praises to God though it does get a little tiring over the length of the album. And despite all the musical competence on offer, I'm not convinced there are any truly memorable songs on Bri's debut but no one can deny that the album's epicentre the seven-minute 14 seconds long "Love You Forever" is a powerfully bombastic piece of musical theatre.

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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