Reviewed by Andy Cooper
This is the third major release from the Denver group based around Michael and Lisa Gungor, and is recorded live without any additional editing. As such, the recording is a little rough around the edges, though it captures the atmosphere and honesty of the group admirably, and there are some truly virtuoso performances on guitar, piano, violin and others! The range of musical styles covered by the band is truly astounding and you never quite know what is going to happen next, but that s the beauty of a well crafted concept album. All the necessary ingredients are there: poetry, mystery, extended solos, drama, indulgence, strange timings and just about no songs suited to radio play! This is non-commercial music at its best: inventive and unusual yet soulful and tuneful. And worshipful. The set opens with a folky harmony that reminds of Mumford & Sons. The guitar plucking dazzles and a violin solo astounds before a menacing crescendo leads to some ghostly voice
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
With so much pop little more than empty anthems the latest crop of pretty ones can mime to on TOTP, Natasha Bedingfield is something very different. Those years of dues-paying, singing R&B gospel with brother Daniel in The DNA Algorithm have clearly born fruit for the 22 year old singer. For Unwritten is a delightful, and at times quite brilliant, debut which though not quite as defiantly eclectic as Daniel s Gotta Get Thru This still takes in quirky R&B, wistfully lilting pop and even and even a rock-tinged track that echoes the recent work of Pink. With it already producing two hits ( These Words and Single ) I suspect there are more to come from this yet. If you re looking for a funky hook catch Drop Me In The Middle (which features a rap from Bizarre of D-12) while the bitter-sweet sensations of precariously moving towards romance are beautifully expressed in I Bruise Easily . And Natasha s faith? Try the bonus track Peace Of Me which surely
Matt Maher Artist Profile. Online Christian radio, Christian music articles, reviews, news and artist profiles. Christian life articles, prayer rooms and much more!
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
The vast majority of artists from the Roman Catholic Church who have recorded music down the years have had to rely on support solely from their own particular denomination to build a ministry but like John Michael Talbot before him, Canada s Matt Maher has shown that songwriting craftsmanship and the avoidance of contentious theological issues can occasionally win American Christian radio support. Matt has already enjoyed considerable success with several of his modern worship songs and this new album is in many ways certain to expand his popularity. At least six of the songs here draw their inspiration from particular figures from the history of the Church including Sons And Daughters (Martin Luther King Jr), Firelight (Mother Theresa), Instrument (St Francis of Assisi), A Future Not My Own (Archbishop Oscar Romero) and Everything Is Grace (St Therese). Maher wrote Sons And Daughters with Jason Ingram and Ike Ndolo and it s a triumphant evocat