Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

The musical journey of the solo Kevin Max continues to create intrigue for bystanders in that there is still a feeling that there is the possibility that he could easily topple over the edge into obscurity like former bandmate Michael Tait. Yet Max continues to cling on by creating well crafted, thoughtful, well executed music and it isn't his fault if the world hasn't yet woken up to his genius! Like McCartney embodies his version of the soul of The Beatles, Toby Mac has continued to be dc Talk albeit re-tooled. In the meantime Kevin Max still makes the most interesting music of the trio, moving away from the Christian industry without yet being fully embraced by the mainstream. 'The Imposter' was a much underrated album and this feels like 'The Imposter Pt 2' as Max locks himself in a studio with a band and creates a more organic rock feel. On "Out Of The Wild" they turn up the volume to 11 riding a "You Really Got Me"-styled riff. There's a mellow remake of "Your Beautiful Mind" that once again reminds us what a great singer Max is. I like the straight forward pulsating pop rock of "Traveller" and the sweeping majesty of "Future Love Song". The title cut has a spoken word delivery that sounds like Max's manifesto for an artistic freedom to take his music beyond the restrictions of creating widgets for the masses. Max has already leaked that the seven songs are supposed to be about the apocalypse. Can't hear it myself unless he's talking about how to survive the Armageddon that the music industry faces. In the bleak fallout from that, Max has a better chance of survival than most. As for this release, it's a consolidation and it is good to hear him rocking!

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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