Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Acoustic worship in the style of early Cutting Edge/Matt Redman and it's clear that like many young people who are beginning to make music/lead worship David Hawes is strongly influenced by Messrs Smith and Redman. But then are we surprised when those two men have done so much to take worship into a new place? Consequently, David's debut 'Dear God' is derivative but this is no bad thing, debut recordings are all about making beginnings and this is a strong start. Hawes is clearly a young gifted worship writer and leader who has overcome the limitations of budget to record six songs that reflect the current passion for intimacy and heartfelt worship. I like the simplicity of "Longing To Be Close" and the opener "Hungry At Heart Come" but I do have some reserva­tions. Vocally, he's managed to pull off a pretty good Matt/Martin imitation but I look forward to him finding his own voice if he's going to rise above accusa­tions of just being a clone, At times, lyrically, there are a few cliches but these can be improved for the next recording with some hard work on the songwrit­ing. It's obvious, from hearing this, that David will be making future recordings, and that 'Dear God' is a solid start promising much.

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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