Reviewed by Greg Inglis

‘New Songs’ is a well established series of albums bringing to the forefront some of the most recent praise and worship material around. Volume 2 of the latest edition features established songwriters including Dave Billbrough, Robin Mark and Paul Oakley as well as lesser known worship leaders Gareth Robinson, Lara Martin and Vicky Beeching. My favourite tracks here are the moving “Befriended” and “All Of Me” which share the common theme of our personal response to the cross. Having listened to this album I’ve been encouraged to find out more about the artists involved, especially Kristyn Lennox who contributes two tracks from her latest release. My main criticism would be that as the songs are taken from over a dozen albums it feels like a bit of “pick and mix” affair. Also, the inclusion of “I Stand Amazed”, written in 1990, doesn’t quite fit the album’s remit. Overall, there is a good balance of studio and live recordings and the inclusion of full lyrics is a real plus. This album is probably most useful for worship leaders looking for fresh songs to introduce in a congregational setting but I can see it being used for personal devotional use as well.

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