Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Here's a new gospel group that seem to marry new sounds with old styles, sounding fresh and yet traditional simultaneously. The Matthis Brothers hail from Arkansas and have adopted the name Image for their debut album. The album begins with the "Then" section where the boys lay down some pretty groovy traditional toe-tapping sounds on "I Feel Good" and get a little soulful on the encouraging "We're Gonna Make It". The highlight of the first half of the album is the six minute testifying "Sunny Day" which really ministers and shows how God restores our lives even in the midst of deep pain! It's one of the best gospel songs I've heard in ages! The second half of the album is the "Now" section and allows the quartet to get a little bit funkier and more up to date but even here, it's got a traditional vibe. "Redeemed" is nicely funky whilst "Fight On" is a modern foot stomper. Though the majority of the songs are self penned, the band let their influences shine through with a version of The Winans classic "Restoration" which works pretty well. Generally these guys seem to have it pretty well nailed down so we'll have to wait and see how they develop. They have the songwriting and vocal chops to go the distance if they can break out from beneath the shadow of groups and sounds that have gone before them.

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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