Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Here we have a colourful presentation by the one-time R&B star. No shortage of ideas, good depth of field, this album never dips into mediocrity and yet to my ears feels a little older than it should be. It's not old fashioned but it's not state of the art either. The capable Hollister almost auto-tunes his voice to within a foot or two of its life; okay, fair enough, R&B producers sometimes cut the vocals like a haircut that's got noticeable steps in it, it's part of the genre. Not that the creamy vocals of the soul singer need correcting, I'm sure they don't. What I wanted to hear was a tune that would make me notice it: "More Of You" came close with its melodic hook, but the groove it sits upon seemed weakened by jerky drum programming. There is a lot of music to get through, and some fine rebuking of church goers who tell us stupid stuff about how women should wear their hats toward the front of their heads and not the back, and how young men should wear their pants and miss the whole point of showing grace to each other. It's a lesson that needs teaching, and Dave Hollister has taken up the gauntlet: the track, not surprisingly, is called "Church". The string parts throughout are well worked out and throw a nice twilight on the lush landscape. "I Know I Can" has a dark feel that's brightened by children's girly voices hooking into the chorus. It's a good song. 'Witness Protection' is slightly left of centre but not edgy, maybe it's not supposed to be.

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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