Reviewed by Tim Holden

Martin Stanesby leads worship at the Gateway Freedom Church in Harlow and has a heart for reaching people through music and worship outworked in the Tenacious project and in this case the 'Tenacious Worship' album. Opening track "Jesus Generation" starts the ball rolling with driving rock guitars and a slightly dance drum beat and the pace keeps going with "You Are" which brings back memories of '80s rock heroes UFO and MSG. Not everything is full-bore rock, and Martin shows his ability to handle the hard rock ballad with "Your Name" as well as the much softer and melodic "Thank You" and "Fire In Your Eyes" before heading back to the heavier side with "Reaching Out". The musical hooks are well written, Martin's singing is okay but the whole thing is let down by the clichéd rock arrangements which would not be out of place on an '80s rock album, and by the lyrics, which have a tendency to fall back onto over familiar images and phrases. Despite these shortcomings the album is very easy to listen to and does not grate at all and clearly Tenacious is a project worth supporting.

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