Reviewed by Andy Long

South Wales has a great reputation for artists in this vein - Martyn Joseph, Nia, Mai Pope and many others. Rob Barrowdale's debut reveals a promising young artist who is keen to carry on this tradition. The musicianship on the album is of a very high standard, Rob has used a full band, including brass from producer Andrew Griffiths and backing vocals from Lorraine and Peter King (a couple whose names appear in the credits of many albums from the South Wales area). The arrangements are well thought out and the atmosphere is one of personal, Christ-centred worship. All the songs are Rob's own compositions and the lyrics are very positive, if a little predictable, the phrasing is sometimes a bit poor but not so much as to distract the listener from the overall impact of the album. I particularly enjoyed "African Child" with it's images portraying the way in which things we take for granted are so much more difficult to obtain in other parts of the world.

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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