Reviewed by Ian Hayter

Tess's 2009 venture was a collaboration with Elo V Knorre, is in German, but this is no Krautrock guitarfest nor Kraftwerk-inspired electronica. The one time Sixpence None The Richer member and daughter of the renowned Fletch Wiley has put together a selection of melodic worship material backed by a bunch of talented German musicians and assisted by string arranger Paul Bryan. Also, her father offers some excellent brass and woodwind, much to the fore on "Halt Mich Nicht Fest", based on Jesus' words to Mary in John 20:17. The first track "Offnet Die Tore" ("Open The Door") takes awhile to get going as the two voices don't immediately gel, but once they do this is a fine set of songs, taking their inspiration from a verse in Psalm 27: "I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living [Land der Lebendigen]'. The musicianship is of real quality and the voices of Tess and Elo are clear and full of energy and emotion. There are hints of the kind of Jesus music that was coming out of Scandinavia and The Netherlands in the 1970s (Het Oude Verhaal, Choralerna), but given a contemporary twist by this Europe-based American and her pals.

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