Reviewed by John Cheek

A relatively new Christian and a sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder, Heather prefers to keep her surname to herself and weighs in with her debut album. She could be a best-keep secret for only a short while, though. 'I Am Not Nothing' features only one original song I believe, but many of the covers are fairly obscure; this reflects a possible desire to communicate meaningful lyrics rather than perform songs which easily showcase her powerful voice. Whilst many of the arrangements could be described as country, rock and power-balladry often crossover satisfactorily and this is to the credit of producer Jason Burns, who has worked with New Order. Whilst her cover of "Hallelujah" is not quite on a par with the very best renditions, it's not far off it. The title-track, a little known song from Beth Crowley, is such a powerfully emotive rendition that the listener could do worse than have a box of tissues nearby. Heather fully inhabits every word of every line of this song - she makes every pause even sound as if her career, her life depended on it. The lyric comes from the viewpoint of a victim of domestic abuse in the first person and is given a remarkable treatment. The rest of the album maintains a similarly high-standard, apart from the Maria McKee hit, "Show Me Heaven". Heather has a brave attempt but falls somewhat short of it, which suggests that the original is a lot harder to cover than has previously been realised. All in all, an excellent debut album. If Heather's songwriting ability develops we could be hearing more of this distinctive voice in her own right.

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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