Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

In case you've not come across the unique music of Breakspear, let me try and explain. Manchester prophet musician Nick Breakspear creates songs that leave the listener washed in Scripture without being preachy. Nick is powerfully prophetic in the work that he creates and draws strongly on the Old Testament and what could be deemed Messianic influences to bring the 21st Christian face to face with their Jewish roots. Yet even my using the term Messianic will bring to mind a particular musical style that you're expecting here but you need to know that Breakspear is constantly surprising and bends the boundaries of genres. "Shalom" has a funky rock groove. The epic "I Don't Get It" is a humorous spoken word response to people who don't understand his fascination with the Jewish stuff. Another highlight is the moving prophetic "Exodus 2". It's the mixture of musical excellence, disarming humour, strong prophetic statements and northern "I'll speak as I find" bluntness that makes 'The Stand Vol 2' so powerful. Listen, if you want to be stretched and challenged and hear something totally original.

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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