Reviewed by Allan Clare

Led by Ross Parsley and the Desperation Band (worship leaders Jared Anderson, Glenn Packiam and Jon Egan) these 80 minutes of worship have been recorded at the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado. The church has hit the news for all the wrong reasons recently with the highly publicised fall and resignation of their pastor, Ted Haggard. The inlay notes that "in the months leading up to the release of this project...in the midst of the trials, these songs have become even more meaningful to our church." The first two tracks sound exactly like the start of every Hillsong album I own: a cheering crowd, electric guitar riffs (but not too heavy), and chanty football terrace choruses. Things look up with the mid-tempo "King Of Glory" where a driving percussion and violins complement the usual mix of power chords and choir. It's a pleasure to sing with this church the words ". . .next to your holiness who can stand?/What compares faced with your righteousness?" I must admit, without active concentration I realised this album was sort of washing over me - it does follow the predictable Hillsong style formula a little too well - start with high energy praise, middle with anthems and end with high energy praise - but there are definite highlights: the stunning electric guitar on "Here In Your Presence" which leads into the haunting repetitive praise refrain of "Wonderful, Beautiful" while the gentle chorus "Hiding Place" by Jared Anderson also strikes deeply. If you like Hillsong you'll like this.

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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