Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Fulwood Free Music is a new music ministry stemming from the vision of Preston's Fulwood Free Methodist Church to break out beyond its walls and connect people to God. One of the fruits of this vision is a nine-track release featuring a variety of singers and musicians from the church including Andrew Slack - the brains behind quirky Manchester experimental group Band_C . Thanks largely to Slack's production skills and general pop sensibility, this release succeeds in bucking the trend of well-meaning but below-par local church worship team releases by being musically interesting and original whilst ensuring that each song emanates directly from Scripture rather than merely repeating well-worn worship phrases found in countless better known songs. Whilst Slack could have carried off all vocal duties himself with ease, he has instead left space for home grown and perhaps less-experienced vocalists to take the spotlight - all of whom do so competently whilst adding variety to the overall sound. Stylistically, this collection swings from big-sounding worship songs like "Colossians Hymn" to the dance pop of "Take My Life" and "You Are The One" whilst benefitting from lots of little touches that are reminiscent of Slack's old band. I would hazard a guess that the content and delivery of songs like the "Survey The Cross" and "The Name" might be a bit too churchy for the group's target audience of non-believers but the musical quality found on the remainder of this release should hopefully help the church in its goal to take God's word out to the wider community.

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.