Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

Shamiso is originally from Zimbabwe and having been singing there from an early age is currently based in Aston, Birmingham, where she serves on her church worship team. She has put together this, her first collection of songs born out of devotional times, a desire to memorise Scripture and day to day challenges in life. The lyrics being crafted the way they are around Scripture give the songs a definite feeling of being worship material rather than commercial songs, and one could use much of this in personal devotions. There is a mix of ballads and up-tempo styles, although I felt somewhat mired in ballads in the second half. In terms of highlights, "Got To Praise Him" sounds very reminiscent of the jazz funk style of bands such as Incognito, and "Continually" has trademark house rhythms featuring and piano. Overall, the arrangements here are generally good, although there are a few moments where the sequencing seems to pull against the vocal in terms of timing, particularly noticeably on "Nowhere To Hide". More worrying is Shamiso's inconsistency in vocal pitch on some tracks, both lead and backing vocals, one example being "It's My Life". There is no need for this these days - you either re-record, overdub or invest in a copy of Auto-Tune!

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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