Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

I admire this young worship band from Northern Ireland for getting their original songs onto CD. Their work, music and youth ministry exude sincerity and commitment. A particular standout is the electric guitar playing, both the solos and the tasteful backing, evident on "Meditations" and "Mystery Of God" especially. The light percussion also gives it a lift. But there are problems elsewhere. The simple guitar strumming is too prominent for my liking and I'd like to hear a more creative use of keyboards. Also, the songwriting and singing need to be sharper and more confident, and too many of the songs here sound similar to each other. I was taken with the start of "Tell Me What You Want" with its dramatic electric guitar intro, but then after one minute it ends! I'd love to see that song developed. "Arise (Shine For Your Light Has Come)", starts with a thumping dance track, completely out of sync with the overall style of the album, and then features a random (though very good) acoustic guitar solo in the middle. On the bonus track "Day Of The Lord", I didn't like the way so many words were dragged out to fit the rhythm - eg, "night" becomes "nigh-ee-i-ight".

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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