Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

I rather enjoyed some of the songs from the last Kookee album, 'This Journey', so I was interested to receive this, the first EP from Ben Blackaby, now going it as a solo artist Matthew Black. The new style is a long way from the old - a fresh and open acoustic sound as opposed to the full rock sound of the band. I remember particularly noting some really nice electric guitar riffs in the old Kookee songs, and Ben's new songs are now underpinned by some really sweet acoustic guitar playing. His voice has a very appealing, lyrical quality to it, and it sometimes reminded me a little of Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies), although it is by no means as quirky as that. I must say that it is an extremely listenable record. There are four main songs and one demo version on the disc, although I'm not sure why the demo version is there and not a finished version.the four main songs do not seem overtly Christian in their content, and I have struggled to make out what they're mostly about apart from "Ignore" which seems to be challenging our immunity to and ability to ignore tragedy in the world around us. In contrast, the demo song, "All I Have Is Yours", is an out and out worship song of submission. Ben is currently gigging and working on a new album for 2007. Whether it is an acoustic album or a full band album, songs like these here will lend themselves well either way and, on the basis of this, I look forward to hearing it.

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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