Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

Chasen may be a band, but they are the brainchild of Chasen Callaghan. Singer, songwriter, acoustic guitarist and pianist, there is no doubt that this aggregation is his baby. Electric guitarist Evan Silver and drummer Aaron Lord complete the line up, creating an unconventional power trio. Chasen are big news in the US, where they have toured with the likes of Relient K and Needtobreathe and featured in national advertising. This however, is their debut album, and it is obvious that the label has put a lot of support into this release. As well as hiring producer Noel Golden (Matchbox 20, Willie Nelson), there is an abundance of strings, bass, keyboards and percussion to fill out the sound of the band. Best described as pop rock with a roots feel, Chasen writes about his struggles through a faith-filled life. The album suffers from having too many mid-paced songs at the beginning, with only poppy first single "Crazy Beautiful" showing much variation. The variety comes later on, with the rockier "All Creation" and the driving "History Tonight", which could be a future single. There is no doubting the faith and passion in Callaghan's lyrics, but the weak link for me is his voice. It's not particularly strong for the rock songs and comes over a bit whiney when he tries to be more fragile and impassioned.

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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