Reviewed by James Stafford

The tracks cover a few musical niches: nu metal (Pillar, Seventh Day Slumber, Falling Up, Thousand Foot Krutch); hip-hip rock (KJ-52, John Reuben); pop punk (Relient K, Hawk Nelson, Superchic[k]); emo (Dizmas, House Of Heroes); heavier rock (Jeremy Camp, Day Of Fire, Skillet); gentler rock (Kutless, Switchfoot, Seven Places); more middle-of-the-road guitar rock (TobyMac, Sanctus Real, Kids In The Way); TobyMac reminds me of the overproduced rock of Avril Lavigne (come again? Editor); Underoath sound like pop/punk mixing in harsher vocals. All are well produced quality, so it's hard to pick any standouts or drop-outs. Many of the tracks are reminiscent of other bands or older tracks by the same band, leaving me wanting to hear something more original. I suppose I'm impressed by KJ-52, although this is the least "hard music" moment on this disc.

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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