Reviewed by James Howard-Smith

'Praise Confession' is a pleasant surprise. The cover (plus the back and inside) have Mr Ansa standing outside Haverfordwest Town Museum greeting us with the warmest, most blissful smile you can imagine, and dressed in a morning suit - either for his own eternal wedding, or as a guest of the bridegroom, depending which theological metaphor he's thinking of. So he presents himself as somebody you want to be friends with, but makes no effort to suggest creative edge with an appropriate pose. This led me expect a hopeless effort by a cantankerous (though inescapably genial) worship leader to use his recording studio time merely to replicate the sounds of a church service. Dave seems to be confirming my suspicions in waiting until the second track to really start singing - using the almost five minute opener to preach and then pray. But the piano-led backing vocals are solid, and it becomes clear that "I Praise Your Name (Praise Confession)" is quite an effective opener, leading us into songs that do sound professional. The record's biggest weakness ends up not being the artist's imagination but the grievously diminutive budget, because, at best, these songs sound almost like soul radio hits from the '70s. 'Praise Confession' has a good producer in gospel worship man Noel Robinson, who brings the right sounds to Dave's 12 self-penned devotional songs, plus the popular classic "Oh Happy Day" and the 23rd Psalm, which closes the album. Edwin Hawkins' "Oh Happy Day" is set in the expected gospel style, culminating with the piano dancing like in Bob Dylan's "Saved", while "Psalm 23", in contrast, is simply read from the English Standard Version with a quiet backing. All the skill the album shows seems to be on display in "The Storm Is Over Now", which starts slow with a gentle groove, builds as the singer, aided most effectively by his backing vocalists, becomes more excited, drums kick in, and eventually a growling guitar echoes the emotion, before Dave briefly prays and the song evaporates in a charming flourish of the piano keys.

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.