Reviewed by Andrew Segal

Born out of the shock and inspiration of a personal tragedy, Stafford-based Margarita takes the six tracks on her CD to do a range of things. She pours out grief over a loved one's death, shares the Gospel, and does this all with a noticeable praising of God for what he has given her. She sings about choices, seeking grace and worshipping the glory of God she has seen. This is done in a collection of tunes which spans several genres, from the simplicity of a folk-inspired single vocal with acoustic guitar and moody synthesiser, to low-bass note driven funk, via a few hints of blues and some straight forward country-inspired pop. Despite the odd missed note, there is an enticing understated passion in how she performs and certainly several musical moments that positively shine. These include some marvellous "sparring" between her singing and the occasionally Eric Clapton-esque lead guitar playing of Geoff Hayden during the track "Never Walk Alone Again". The funk-driven "It's A Miracle" also provides a pleasant groove on the CD, hitting you when you're not quite expecting it in a very cleanly produced collection that has some strong messages.

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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