Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

21 year old student Jonathan Lake is currently midway through a popular music and recording course at the University of West London and has somehow found time to release a full length album of songs that talk about God, life and relationships. There is an overriding dance feel to proceedings with the opener "Trust In You" possessing a retro club groove that smacks of Yazz and the Plastic Population whilst four to the floor tracks like "Beautiful World" and "Glimpse Of You" bring things more up to date. Lake's voice is at the higher end of the scale and this suits his style of music down to the ground although the overuse of reverb and an occasionally tinny mix on the vocals sometimes detracts. Nonetheless, the difference God has made to the singer's life is put across (or at least hinted at) in the likes of the "Supernatural" and the existential "So Much More" whilst break up songs like the suitably forlorn "Time Machine" and "Not Enough" add some thematic variety. Guest vocalist Eleanor Latham makes an appearance on two versions of the Lake original "I Can't Stop Loving You" - one of which contains some ill-advised scatting ("skiddly bop" et cetera) - but this, along with a couple of perfunctory dance instrumentals, feels more like filler than killer on an otherwise promising release.

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.