Reviewed by A T Bradford

'Brave' is Shawn's fifth studio album and his most successful to date, having reached number 26 in Billboard's Christian Albums chart. The album opens with the title track, an up-tempo dance number with free-style female vocal harmonies echoing the message of hope ("Let the blaze keep growing higher/It's in the flames that we shine brighter.../When we walk across the wire, we won't back down/'cos we are brave'). "End Of The Day" continues the up-beat percussion with a male harmony echo this time. The standout track here is "FireFly" which is a distinct gear-change with a strings-led introduction reminiscent of "Strawberry Fields", giving way to a sharp, percussion-driven song with more telling lyrics, "You were born to fly, like a firefly/Lighting up the sky/You were made to soar/You were made for more." Almost as good is "Flower In The Snow", a synth-led track capped with majestic drums. This is an album that grows with each airing.

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