Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Music has long since been recognised as the main vehicle to aid believers in their worship but this spoken word release from Scottish performance poet El Gruer sees the genre of prose do just as good a job. Containing seven short poems with only Gruer's native Scottish Highland accent as accompaniment, 'The Bride And The Alarm Clock' comes on the back her first performance tour and it's easy to see why she is fast becoming recognised as one of the poetry world's rising stars. Gruer's rhythmic writing style immediately draws the listener in as she points towards her relationship with Christ in the opener "The Bride" whilst "Psalm 2011.7" and "I Dream Despicable Dreams" carry on in similar faith-referencing fashion. Arguably, Gruer is at her best in the likes of the heartbreaking "The Wedding" and the powerful "I'm Sorry Japan" - the latter seeing the wordsmith document her repeated failure to stop and pray for the country's earthquake-stricken people whilst simultaneously pricking the conscience of everyone who listens to this particular track. In short, this is a beautiful, skilful and enthralling release from a writer whose poetry offers something fresh with every listen.

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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