Reviewed by Nigel Bayley

Seattle-based five-piece The Myriad are making quite a name for themselves. First they were crowned MTV Breakout champions in December 2007, and then in May 2008 their video for "A Clean Shot" became the number one most played video on MTV. 'With Arrows, With Poise' is their second album and is full of up-tempo inventive rock songs, delivered with remarkable energy and outstanding musicianship. The aforementioned memorable single "A Clean Shot" and the anthemic "A Thousand Winters Melting" are standout tracks, but there are simply no fillers here, every song has been carefully conceived and brilliantly built around driving guitar and insistent piano. The momentum starts right from the opener and builds throughout without any dips in quality or vigour. Jeremy Edwardson's vocals are superb and always crystal clear despite the complexity of the music weaving around them. Lyrically, you have to dig pretty deep to find references to their Christian faith but, subtle though it is, it is in there. For example in "Forget What You Came For" they exhort us to "Quit making noise and become still for the silent voice/Quit making noise and wait." Ultimately, I'm not surprised at the impressive progress The Myriad are making in the mainstream because 'With Arrows, With Poise' is a hugely powerful, wonderfully atmospheric album which demands your attention.

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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