Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

The blurb on Christafari's latest release states that this is the veteran American reggae act's "rootsiest and most worshipful album to date" and even suggests that they have become some kind of reggaefied version of Hillsong. In truth however, this collection of reworked worship tunes, original numbers and the occasional hymn is much more than that and sees the group pull an infectious gem of a release out of the bag. Containing all the verve and freshness of their earliest offerings, it's clear that Christafari are still at the top of their game as they deliver substantially revamped and arguably improved takes on the likes of Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God" and "Hosanna" by Brenton Brown before delving further back to older influences such as "Old Rugged Cross" - all containing the earthy grinding reggae sounds that Christafari have become famous for. A number of guest acts such as Monty G, Tiago Costa and Dillavou enhance the likes of "Celebrate You", "Faithful One" and "Roots Revival" respectively and only a substandard version of the old standard "I Shall Not Be Moved" - which misguidedly strays into Boney M territory - fails to hit the mark in this otherwise exemplary offering.

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