Reviewed by Matt Crossman

Anyone who's been around the church scene will be familiar with the music of Martin Flett - by that I mean you'll recognise instantly the use of the 12 string versus the six string acoustic guitar and the emphasis on midpaced soft rockers-come-ballads that so populate Christian music. The Yorkshire-based artist has a fair level of basic unrefined talent. You can sense a nice voice longing to get out, which a few singing lessons would unearth. As it is the vocals are fairly average - and not all that well captured in the recording studio. The songs themselves are a touch formulaic too, reliant on simple keys and arrangements (often a picked arpeggio layered over a full chord strum). I get a sense of Martin's journey from the songs - and also from the timeline of family photos which make up the front cover. The sentiments expressed are pure, and the expression heartfelt - but I wonder if these songs were meant to merely be treasured by the artist and shared at open mics rather than "released"? If that is Martin's intention, then I prescribe a crash diet of Sufjan Stevens, John Martyn with a dash of Iron And Wine for Martin before he goes back into the studio.

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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