Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

ApologetiX are a Christian parody band, which means that they produce cover versions of famous songs with the lyrics re-written to portray biblical truths - sometimes re-telling Bible stories, sometimes conveying theological or ethical themes. So far so been done before. The difference here is that ApologetiX do it really, really well. They're a band at the top of their game. Which means that the performances here are superb while the lyrics have been re-written with a real feel for the rhythm of the words (check out "Brash, Impulsive" for an excellent example and the way they re-use the word "Angel" in "Manifold" is smile-inducing) as well as the message and overall it's a package that is really good to listen to and contains a lot of fun - it's stuff you want to play to your friends and makes you smile just to hear it. California-based ApologetiX are prolific too - 54 albums on their web site at time of writing. Of course, it does help if you know the original versions - unlike others of their albums I've reviewed I didn't know the songs on this 2016 album as well those on some of their other releases, but I was still impressed (listen to the solo on "Try And Try Again" for example). While I suspect they're more comfortable on the harder rockier numbers (such as "Lily-White Boy"), they still sound more than competent on gentler stuff (such as "A Fool Can Sound Intelligent"). The music is lovingly done, the lyrics are well crafted and the overall album is a delight to sit and listen to. Just don't look up what the originals are before you listen to them - the surprise is all part of the fun.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.