Reviewed by Ian Hayter

This set of 10 songs written and arranged by Nashville-based songstress Mary-Kathryn and her producer Paul Buono seems on first inspection to be a rather new-agey kind of selection. The ethereal cover photos (one of which manages to make the singer look uncannily like Vera Duckworth), the eastern symbols and the dreamy instrumentation all contribute to that expectation. But this is an album that clearly is intended to lead into worship of the One True God. Mary-Kathryn's own soaring vocals and the wonderful backing singers (with Finnish quintet Fire 4U well to the fore) make this a great album to listen to and the lyrics - some of which are taken directly from the Psalms ("You Are There" from Psalm 139 and "Psalm 91") - are full of solid biblical material. The opening "Incense Of Praise" sets the tone with a great Eastern feel, helped along by the violin of Hugh Marsh. There's more Middle Eastern-influenced music on "Wailing Wall", which includes a superb guitar solo by the aforementioned Mr Buono. Two of the tracks weigh in at over six minutes and keep the listener utterly enthralled throughout. The melding together of pop, folk, world and ambient influences makes this a totally absorbing album and even the dance-pop electronica of the final "Glory Forever" manages to add something special to the mix.

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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