Reviewed by Tony Cummings

What a delight! For ages Nashville CCM has been turning out numerous quality female pop singers with genuinely arresting vocals while the British scene has produced hardly anybody in recent years with that haunting, radio friendly sound of today. That’s changed with the release of ‘Hurry To This Heart’ for here is an album showcasing a fresh and captivating singing talent expertly caught by engineer/producer Phil Goss in the first bloom of creativity. The appeal rests partly in Debby’s breathy, brittle, bitter-sweet voice, partly in songs which bring artful melodic twists to psalms (“Could Ever Be”), songs about temptation (“The Flame”), adoration (“Your Kind Of Love”) or the unpredictability of life (“Even So”); and partly in arrangements which allow real instruments breathing space to put deft textures to songs a million miles from the sterile sound of midi-driven pop. In fact with deft acoustic guitars and snatches of violin and tin whistle, some tracks have a folk roots tinge which perfectly suits Debby’s haunting voice. I suppose the fact that Debby is US born stops this from being an absolutely British project. But who cares? With musical talent as fresh and invigorating as this, one can only applaud its release and urge readers to look beyond the American pop gospellers crowding the bookshop racks to discover a fine new artist.

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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