Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

Sitting in that interesting overlap between pop and modern worship, these songs from the long-time CCM hitmakers from North Carolina have a great singalong quality. Having said that, the unchurched would have difficulty in working out exactly who the "you" being addressed is, though. ("Beginning and end - it's who you are", from "Assurance" for example.) It's track four before Jesus gets a name check and seven for God - the credal recital here leaves absolutely no doubt, to be fair. Whether that bothers you may depend on the context in which you see these songs: performance or congregational. Regardless, the vocal similarly straddles the crossover in style - being reminiscent of The Wanted, One Direction, et al. The overall feel is very uplifting, songs such as "Shame Doesn't Live Here Anymore" celebrating Jesus' victory more than reflecting on our sin that made it necessary, which fits the style well - music and lyrics conveying the same message. Even the gentler numbers have that sort of feel to them. The band are tight, playing very much to support the vocal - nice flourishes, pauses and so on for emphasis (eg, "The Journey") and all very well played without necessarily breaking new ground. It's all very well done but I just couldn't get away from the feeling that I'd heard it all before.

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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