Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Last year's 'Soulfire' alburn introduced us to the band's potential but a year of hard work has definitely paid off since 'Valley Of Decision' is a giant musical leap forward which mainly falls into a ragamuffin dance hall style. There are a number of identifiable hooks for comparison, a touch of Bob Marley here, the cheeky asides of Shabba Ranks, basically a whole mish mash of influences without being derivative. The secular Sunsplash tour may have won them some notoriety amongst the rastas for having the audacity to share Jesus with their fellow artists but their tour with DC Talk established them on the Christian scene. Best songs include "Time" which is a relaxed harmony drenched encouragement to spend more time with God. "Him Die Fi Yuh" mixes sweet harmonies, strong horns and some excellent toastin' with a clear straight message about the cross. "Best Friend" has an authentic reggae groove borrowed from Jamaica's Shocking Vibes crew and the hottest toastin'! The title cut hits a solid groove, "Can't Stop" is a sunny worship celebration that should be blasting out of your sound system for the rest of the summer. There's just no choice in the valley of decision. Buy!

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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