Reviewed by Simon Eden

If you asked Mark what came first in his life, he would probably say God, followed closely by music, so it should come as no surprise that he is a worship leader at a church in Portadown, Northern Ireland. 'Open My Lips' is his debut five-track EP release, of which all songs are written, arranged, performed and produced by Mark, although he does admit to having some help from Pete and Pamela Scoley, Paul Woods, Steven Maginnis, and his wife Delia gets a credit as well. Mark's talents as a music teacher are clearly well placed as the guitar playing is to a high standard and the cello arrangements on tracks such "My Passion" build the song structure in a meditative style. Most songs are played in a soft acoustic mellow style suited to worship. However, the lyrics are regrettably very simplistic and repetitive.

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