Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

I confess to having a soft spot for Bill's songs where he is capable of producing good lyrics executed with a plaintive growling vocal. Higgins has a rough diamond voice, which is a cross between Alex Legg and Elvis Costello! This second privately recorded tape features four new songs from this Dundee based singer/songwriter. This one opens with the rock praise of "Shake Yourself Free Jerusalem" with its fuzzy guitar which bounces along nicely and I can imagine it's a crowd pleaser live. The thing I like about Higgins is his songwriting and in "My Brother Truth" he personifies truth as the brother who gives you the space to be real but who confronts you when you lie to yourself. An interesting concept. Things calm for the mellow and beautiful "For Them We Pray" which is Bill at his tenderest singing to an acoustic guitar. "Temporary" is an excellent lyrical idea but sadly never really catches fire musically. The tape closes with "I Call Your Name Jesus" which was featured on his previous private recording. As this type of tape goes, the production quality is pretty good if a little basic. This is a good effort but not really any leap forward from the last tape. Keep plugging away Bill!

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.