Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Cross Rhythms has made a long-time commitment to discovering the very best Christian music and bringing it to the attention of our readers. But that task is far from easy with independent artists. For a start there are huge numbers of them and few have either the resources or the expertise to be good publicists. So unless they discover US it can take years of music making before we stumble across a particular artist's work. Take Matt Munhall. He released his first album in 2003 and this is his fourth, funded by a Kickstarter campaign and made with Nashville producer Brad Jones. It demonstrates clearly that Matt is a MAJOR talent, both as songwriter and pianist whose name Cross Rhythms should have been shouting from the rooftops (or at least the internet) for years. Well, better late than never. '700 Miles' kicks off with an utterly infectious testimony-in-song which over some funky programming and a couple of righteous gospel singers providing BVs is surely destined for radio play. Then there's a reflective ballad on the wonder of an intimate relationship with God ("Dancing With You"), a finely crafted "When I'm Gone" where Munhall ponders what people will say about him after he's left this mortal coil ("What will they say when I'm gone/When the case is closed and the curtains drawn/When all my suits are auctioned on the lawn") and "Teardrops" complete with a doowop accompaniment. My current favourite is a blues romp "The Heavenly Hound" with some piano licks good enough to have given Arizona Dranes a run for her money, but wherever one looks on this album one finds a warm-voiced crafter of songs working at the top of his game.

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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