Reviewed by Elliot Rose

The Awaken Movement is described as "a collective of compelled and talented musicians, pastors, photographers, designers, filmmakers, songwriters, authors, businessmen and women, missionaries and countless others from Dallas to Nashville to New York to London to Europe." Their debut EP of self-penned worship tracks is good enough but nothing really special. Opening with an eerie acappella introduction, "We Will Go" sets the standard for 'Kingdom Rise', providing a catchy tune and a bouncy rhythm which kicks the EP off to an uplifting start. "Most High God" continues the feel-good ambience and strong melody on a more soulful level, but sadly the disc slopes downhill slightly from here on. The title track, despite having a richer texture, lacks the innovation of the previous songs, and the arrangements of "Fatherless" also feel a little less professional - the tambourine in a 6/8 time signature doesn't gel easily and the hammered dulcimer has a banjo-like tone which grates slightly on a soft rock ballad. "Move" almost redeems the EP as a strong climax until Pastor Rob Peabody's spoken "Postlude" tags a short sermon onto the end which feels rather out of place. Mark and Joel Warren's joint lead vocals are competent enough, but certainly the highlight for me is the backing vocal arrangement throughout.

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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