Reviewed by Ian Hayter

Manhu have been together since 2005 when they formed the nucleus of a worship band for an event in their native Latvia. They've had plenty of airplay in their homeland and have toured throughout Europe, the USA, India and Korea. Having moved to Amsterdam in 2009 they have now released their first studio album. Their own website describes them as a rock band strongly influenced by jazz, soul, blues and folk, all influences which can be clearly discerned on this fine collection of 10 songs. Kicking off with "Abba Dad", a Springsteenesque romp, they work through a kaleidoscope of styles, with mellow acoustic passages (the first part of "All Over"), jazzy piano passages ("In Your Eyes") and some oddly inventive sounds (the start of "Golden Streets" and "One Man"), all the while belting out lyrics that would be articulate and poetic for a native English speaker, let alone the Latvian songsmith Janis Zabaks, who also provides vocals and acoustic guitars on this recording. The Kaulins brothers Danis and Andris, play saxes and keyboards respectively, with some wonderful sax sections, sometimes reminiscent of Clarence Clemons' rasping alto and sometimes grunting along on baritone along with Janis Strupenieks' thumping bass. Mikelis Vite on drums completes the lineup, again demonstrating a variety of approaches throughout. Much of the material is worship-centred, with biblically influenced lyrics and a real sense of God's promises, summed up in a line from "Daddy", by far the shortest track on the album at just 90 seconds, and providing the album's title - "Even if the world falls heavy on my shoulders, still my Daddy's stronger". From the gently lilting pop of "Innocent Child" to the thundering stadium rock of "I Sing This Song", with its anthemic chorus and Middle Eastern sounding backing vocals, this is a great album, with superb production (uncredited on my copy). Manhu (the Hebrew phrase for "what's that?") deserve the widest exposure.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.