Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

What I liked most about this album from a Nashville-based singer/songwriter is its positivity and optimism. Themes of gratitude and generosity are woven through many of the songs and the spiritual feel-good factor is welcome. Strain's voice is strong, clear and melodic and while arrangements are pop-flavoured they are pared back to subtly enhance rather than overwhelm the songs. The upbeat "Beautiful Beginning" is a particularly apt opening track and sets the tone for the album. That being said the prayerful and rather short song "I Sing" also captures the essence of the collection - "I can never sing enough to tell of what you've done." In "Enough" there's a strong sense of being blessed as a recipient of God's generosity. Musical styles vary from the pop country stylings of "I'm Alive" to the more reflective "Just As I Am". The latter emphasises God's unconditional love, accepting us as we are, with all our faults and failures. It's hard to find a particularly standout track but I did especially enjoy "All I Wanna Do", which works well as both a spiritual and a secular love song.

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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