Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Christian singer/songwriters courageous enough to describe the indescribable, the epiphanies, frustrations and nuances of a life caught up in Christ face a difficult challenge. If their lyrics are couched in too many metaphors and internal musings the message and meaning become lost and little different from the introspective indulgences of the thousands of secular bedroom poets. If their lyrics are too prescriptive declarations of biblical truth, they lyrics can come across as peculiarly stilted, particularly in a musical form of stripped down instrumentation favoured by most singer/songwriters. Bournemouth-based singer/songwriter Tom endeavours to find a path between these known pitfalls and on the whole succeeds pretty well as he blends inspiration from God's creation ("Velvet Sky", "Breaking In Of Light"), memories of past mistakes ("Love Like A Drug") and a powerful song of God's forgiveness ("Redemption"). The most effecting tracks here are "Teddy", a powerful salvo against American gun culture, and "Why", which eloquently pinpoints the frailty of our faith so that one time we can "drink it all tonight" and another day "sip from the cup" with a memorable chorus, "Why do I try and drown/And forget the crown/You so desire to place on my head." Throughout the album Tom's voice is richly expressive, a little like a British Bebo Norman, while the deft production from Mike Griffiths where the most delicate shades of lyrical acoustics are interspersed with occasional interjections of rock music bombast keep the focus on Tom's songs. All in all, a most satisfactory record label debut from a songsmith clearly working hard at his craft.

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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