Reviewed by Neil Brennan

Two years after messrs Sherrington, Allder and Smith turned their backs on previous lives with The River Thieves and 33AD to plough a new furrow in the Spirit-inspired pasture that is The Electric Revival. Here it is, their longingly awaited first album. It's an album awash with so many potential singles (I counted seven of its 10 tracks in that category) that instead of 'Learning To Drown' it could quite conceivably have carried the audaciously impertinent 'Greatest Hits' title. There are certainly few, if any, misses. It's an album as highly emotionally charged as you'd expect from The Electric Revival, nothing tugging at the heart strings more than the rousing "Resurrection" (which reduced me to tears recalling Calvary and everything JC did -and thankfully still does - for miserable sinners like me) and the very fitting "Call My Name" finale. Perhaps a little surprisingly, there's also an impressive melodic element in "Beautiful" and others, showing a thoughtful and poignant side to a band whose sound is most synonymous with the word power. The driving rhythms of Darren Allder's bass and an energetically tight display from sticks man Andy Smith form a solid and dependable back line, providing the perfect platform for the ever gregarious Tim Sherrington to grind out some of the most engagingly familiar guitar riffs in UK Christendom. This dazzling debut will have every Christian music venue in the country (and a fair share of secular ones) clamouring for a TER gig, from the smallest of youth groups to the spectacle of Greenbelt. You won't be alone in taking the plunge with 'Learning To Drown'.

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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