Reviewed by Anthony Longville

'Body Language' is the latest album released by the Toronto-based Catholic rock outfit. The spoken opening of "In The Beginning Part 2" immediately grabs the attention with its sampled excerpts from the Bible's second chapter - literally the genesis of Adam and Eve. This then kicks in to the crunching guitar intro of the title track and this listener certainly sat up and took notice. The album goes through a range of rock and pop styles, but predominantly rock. High on the album's credits is none other than Pope John Paul II for his 'Theology Of The Body', a series of talks given over a decade dealing with Christian viewpoints on sexuality. So the listener is left in no doubt where this is coming from and in the face of so much of today's pop culture, the message is a striking one. Imagine Robbie Williams or Beyonce singing lyrics like "celibacy is a gift"! It is strong stuff, but it is encouraging that the message is not condemnatory. On "Friend" the band encourage the listener to love people whose lifestyle differs from ours, recognising that this follows the example of Jesus himself. There is also worship in the midst of all this on a reworking of the band's "Body And Blood". And quite rightly too there's a love song on "Walk You Home" which ends in a sumptuous guitar solo. Music with a message.

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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