Reviewed by Simon Amers

Bruce King has been writing and performing for nearly 30 years. A former stage actor, he now lives in Houston and runs a chiropractic practice with his wife. Bruce has a tuneful, expressive voice, although the phrasing on the opening track "Sunrise" is reminiscent of Neil Diamond! Bruce's acoustic guitar is backed by sparse instrumentation, including piano, cello and percussion to good effect on most tracks. After the lightness of the opening track, the mood darkens with the brooding cello on "Mist For Glory" which is echoed on "Carry Me Through This Life". Lyrically the songs' main theme is our need for Jesus introduced by "Just The Same". This is the highlight of the album with the piano providing an effective counterpoint to the acoustic guitar, echoed by Tara Leigh Cobble's backing vocals. The words featured on the sleeve ("a dirty window occasionally washed by the rain") are from this song. The sleeve does not otherwise provide lyrics but they can be printed from Bruce King's website. Songs such as "Broken Hearted" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" continue the personal, introspective feel of the lyrics. A lot of the songs are of a similar tempo and this can feel a little repetitive at times but "Nothing To Fear" does stand out with its lyric "invisible monsters seem to lurk and I loose my Bible". Christian Today magazine picked Bruce as one of its Top Ten Artists You Should Know. He is indeed a talent worth checking out.

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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