Reviewed by Tim Holden

Coming from years of experience on the Canadian folk scene, this is Nic's first worship album. His style is very pared back and 'Anointed One' is just Nic singing and playing guitar recorded live using a single microphone and no editing afterwards. This approach seems to be a bit of a thing for Canadians as the Cowboy Junkies take the same approach with amazing results. In this case it gives a very real feel to the songs as nothing can hide behind fancy arrangements and technical wizardry and it really lets Nic's passion and lyrics come to the forefront. While the songs may not be corporate worship material, they are all Bible-based and are either personal worship or exhortation and teaching and the lack of expensive production is a refreshing change in a market that is saturated with heavily produced, predominately rock, music at the moment. It has to be said that an album as pared back as this one will be something of an acquired taste so make sure you listen to some samples before buying.

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.