Reviewed by Andy Shaw

'Love And Fear' is the culmination of many years hard work by songwriter Michael Nichols who, along with guitarist Jared Rosdeutscher, make up My Heart Lies. Hailing from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Michael has been involved in the local music scene through a number of different projects including the worship band One Renown and many of the friends he has made along the way have contributed to the recording of this album. The majority of songs were originally intended to be part of a solo project but it became clear that to do the songs justice they needed a fuller band sound. Beyond the two core members of the band, there is a big supporting cast providing drums, keyboards, synths, cello, violin and vocals. The vision for this project is to bring a message of hope and the love of God to young people who are part of a generation that are increasingly struggling with issues around identity and self-worth. There is no sense of pressure to be a huge commercial success and that helps the record breathe, providing a more relaxed feel. The focus is not on polishing the sound to perfection but on presenting the message in the lyrics in a way that young people can access. At first glance, there are obvious comparisons to pop-punk bands such as New Found Glory, particularly on the more high-energy tracks but on closer inspection there is a lot more depth and maturity to the sound. Whatever the influences, the strength of the melodies is consistent from the classic pop-punk of "Curbside Serenade" to the reflective piano-driven "Regrets And Repair". The emotion and passion in the lyrics is reflected in the music in a variety of ways, whether it is the brooding strings on "Inform Me" or the vocal screams of "Crash". At 15 tracks clocking in at just under an hour it does drag in places with a couple of tracks feeling a bit too pedestrian and not adding a great deal to the mix. That is a minor criticism though for what is a strong debut.

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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