Reviewed by Pippa Rimmer

In his native Madagascar, Rija is quite a star, filling stadia and having a high profile career. Although unknown in this corner of the world, he has come up with this French praise album, (in English, ‘Something Eternal’), presumably to break into the French or European markets. As it stands, it's a pleasant enough offering, if pedestrian. I feel as though I've heard all this before from the other side of the great pond - identikit praise and worship which neither grabs nor inspires. It's vibey enough on “Par Ta Grace” (Through Your Grace) and lively enough on “Liberte” (Freedom) but has nothing new to offer, apart from the possible novelty (from an anglophonic point of view) of being a French language recording. Musically, it holds its own, but there's nothing much to write home about. In its favour, One Euro of the cover price will go towards a humanitarian project in Madagascar. Other than that, I'm not convinced that the listener will want to part with their hard-earned Euros.

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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