Reviewed by Oscar Hyde

Last Easter, 12 artists contributed a song (almost) apiece to this album, each a different perspective on the subject of Easter and our present hope. To make the hope more manifest, all additional proceeds were contributed to World Vision's Girl Rising project, supporting education for young girls around the world. The album itself begins with Sherry Muchira's beautiful and rousing rendition of the old spiritual "Were You There", which builds into something truly anthemic, grounding the listener in the powerful love and reality of Good Friday that underpins the hope of Easter Sunday. Several other songs on the album reinforce this image, including "Underneath the Tree" by AC-rockers Wetherby, while others, such as Staci Frenes's "Only Love Lives On" and Tanya Godsey's "You Made Everything Beautiful" reinforce the liberating effects of Easter Sunday. The highlights of the rest of the album include a lovely fingerstyle piece by Amy Courts and Paul Koopman, "Three Days", an extended metaphor on self-forgiveness, and Manic Bloom's exhilarating and paradoxically forward-looking "In Loving Memory".

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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