Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

I need to explain things here. This is how it works at Cross Rhythms Towers. When Admiral Cummings gets anything that is a little off beam, strange or difficult to review, it's my pigeonhole that the CD lands in! Thus The Faithful Church is in my CD player and I'm trying to puzzle this out. Deliberately controversial, I'm trying to gauge whether this is satire or blasphemy. Musically it's various styles of pop and rock. At face value the album is packed with what you could say was alternative sounds and lyrics. Musically there's a refreshing looseness here. The whole thing has a theatrical feel to it with band members adopting personas and fake testimonies. Their live show deliberately creates a warped version of a revival meeting and it does sound like fun. The surprising thing is that they've had a hit song in the Billboard Christian song chart, "Song Of The Lamb" which features Tortelvis from Dread Zeppelin on vocals. Other highlights include the protest song "Bring The Soldiers Home" which sounds like Neil Young circa 1975. "Holy Bible Atomic Hell Fire Heat" juxtaposes some heavy apocalyptic images with a slice of stomping country music. It's strange but also strangely wonderful. "The Kids Don't Care" is a slab of social commentary and another favourite. Ultimately I'm guessing this is meant to be satirical and the band are presenting a message dressed up as an intriguing anti-message. Even a jolly song with a controversial title like "Was Jesus A Murderer Or A Maniac" which sounds like it was recorded during the Jesus Revolution in the early '70s makes a valid point. Conclusions? It's satire that will appeal to the hordes beyond the church doors because it makes them laugh first and then ask questions. Otherwise these guys are huge mickey taking blasphemers and boy are they in trouble!

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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