Reviewed by Andrew Privett

For some time AJ was lead guitarist and sometimes lead vocalist for Belfast band Life Assurance. He has been a solo artist now for two years. Interest has been shown by Phil Naish and Sparrow Records after hearing a four-song demo tape. AJ has supported John Schlitt (Petra) on his solo tour, and Barry Bynum in Belfast. Right. That's the background on the artist, so how about this tape? Okay, here goes! Lyrically, this is a 'reachout' album, based on Matthew 7:7. I'm afraid that on the musical side I was a little disappointed - some of the guitar and keyboard parts were rather clichéd (the song "Nobody" sounded like Erasure and others had shades of Michael W Smith, and even Cliff). I found that there doesn't seem to be a real direction: pop or rock? The drum machine was a constant irritation (beat -boxophobe?), and as a drummer myself I thought that a real acoustic kit would have helped to pull the sound together. Presumably the budget didn't stretch that far. I did enjoy some of the slower tracks - "Faithful", "Tomorrow Still The Same" and "Going Away" - ballads seem to be AJ's strength.

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