STYLE: MOR / Soft Pop RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 120629-18904 LABEL: Sonflower 845350036695 FORMAT: CD Album RELEASE DATE: 2011-11-22 RRP: £9.99
Reviewed by Martin I Smith
Sisters Elissa and Becca are now on their fourth full-length offering, and they're running a tight ship. Their cheery, summery pop-worship is clean and refined, professional and polished. Which is really the issue. A previous Cross Rhythms reviewer remarked upon the Sonflowerz' lack of distinctive features and by the sounds of it, things haven't much changed. Everything is reigned in under a sugary and overly-familiar, middle-of-the road mould. 'By Faith' plays its merry way along without ever doing anything daring enough to prick your ears. It's pleasant and pretty, and ultimately harmless. The Colorado pair can obviously sing well, but there's little personality in their melodies. "Come on!" we wish to say; not in doubt of their talent or sincerity, but in the hope of spurring them on to bolder things - to flex their artistic muscles and reach beyond cookie-cutter quality.
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Product Description
Almost one year after sister act The Sonflowerz shared a double wedding ceremony on the same day, Elissa Leander Tipps and Becca Leander Nicholson released 'By Faith', the follow-up album to 'All Over The World' which was released in 2008.
NewReleaseTuesday.com says, “This album is filled with great harmonies, vertical worship lyrics and every song is an offering of praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus. If you like songs that are filled with biblical truth and enjoy bands like 'Point of Grace' and 'BarlowGirl' with female harmonies, then look no further than The Sonflowerz.”
“There is a theme of worship throughout the album, which stems from our beginning as a worship band for our youth group. We have always loved seeing people encounter God in a personal way, and we hope other churches can find these songs useful,” says Elissa.
“We wrote “By Faith” out of Hebrews 11, the “hall of faith”, and I believe the message is relevant for today. London riots, economic rollercoasters, wars, drought, famine and hopelessness mark the times we’re living in.
But our response to this should be faith, not in ourselves or in things around us, but in our Creator God who sustains everything.” says Becca.