Reviewed by Trevor Raggatt

Zemer Levav (Hebrew for Song Of The Heart) produce modern, mainstream music aimed squarely at the Messianic worship market. The band itself comprises a family of musicians led by Mark and Shimrit Hanes alongside their four daughters - Shalisha, Adrielle, Liorah and Kerah. Between them they play a range of traditional middle-eastern and ethnic instruments - oud, harp, lyre, dumbek among others. However, this shouldn't fool you into thinking that this is the authentic music of King David. No, Zemer Levav are to Hebrew folk very much what the Corrs are to traditional Irish tunes. What they do offer is a contemporary pop/worship music tinged with the heritage of the Holy Land complemented by lyrics derived from the Scriptures. Unfortunately this comes off as resembling a potential Israeli Eurovision Song Contest entry. It's certainly very slickly done and the production of Yochanan Ben Yehuda, Bill Cuomo and Jerry Marcellino creates a smoothly accomplished mood. And this raises a problem, since each track seems to blend into the others with little to mark or differentiate them. Maybe listeners with a penchant for Messianic worship will find things to enjoy on this album. However, for this reviewer 'As Long As I Breathe' is far too bland to truly catch the ear.

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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