Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

If you're looking for something which is worshipful, creative, beautiful and unique, this is a very good place to start. In an era where original worship is very difficult to find and the worship scene is inundated with the same old same old, here's cool water to pour on your thirsty soul. Sweden's David Ahlen is an ambient artist whose album is packed with meditational, psalm like pieces that stand out from the crowd. Built around Ahlen's acoustic guitar and falsetto voice, 'Selah' is the right word to describe proceedings since it's an opportunity to take a deep sigh and let the beauty wash over you and minister. The sparse instrumentation is occasionally augmented by other textures to add to the beauty but it's mainly stripped down and left to breath. From the opening "Linger" which sets the scene through to the closing "Yeshua", this is for those wanting to be musically adventurous so if you like someone like Sufjan Stevens, this will definitely be worth adding to your collection though it's a shame that one or two of the tracks are let down by too many squeaks from the acoustic guitar. Still, with its Jewish folk music influence and its peaceful, transcendent mood, this is an album impossible to listen to and not be calmed.

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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