Reviewed by Paul Knab

If the cover and title is anything to go by you could be mistaken in thinking you are about to encounter a grizzly kids' praise CD. In fact this Swedish group of musicians mix acoustic, jazz, pop, rock, blues and (according to their website) "some West coast smoothie." Most of the musicians have studied at University of Music Gothenburg, Sweden. The album has a pleasant laid back feel. Kicking off with a slow jazz funk groove with Kristian Selan's oozing vocals recalling the rich appeal of Sade. "Mercy" is a lush track with its beautiful acoustic and light melody. But as the album moves on you get the feeling these guys are still experimenting to find their true niche which brings mediocrity on a couple of the tracks. The album has three short instrumentals including "Help Me" and "JB-Lake Trumpet" which show off the musical proficiency and eclectic style. The finale is the highlight with the radio edit "Mercy Remix" which has a great '80s dance appeal taking influence from Oliver Cheatham "Get Down Saturday Night" and the earlier jazz funk of Level 42. The lyrics are simple and effective with lines like, "It's all about mercy it's all about do you believe?" This is an accomplished first offering from the band and I will watch with interest to see how Big Street develop.

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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