Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Headed up by producer/songwriter Greg de Blieck and under the wider auspices of outreach ministry New Scottish Arts, this collection of Celtic-orientated hymns from some of Scotland's top Christian folk artists draws upon the strong tradition of Scottish hymnwriting whilst offering up something new to the nation's congregations. Tying in with its title, de Blieck has wisely plumped for a Scottish feel to proceedings and therefore whistles, fiddles and the odd reel tastefully abound together with the native tones of folk star Emily Smith and in-demand singer/songwriters Steph Macleod, Ellyn Oliver and Yvonne Lyon. This album mixes completely new songs with adaptations of established hymns and, for the most part, this works well. For instance, de Blieck originals such as "Psalm 139 (Were I To Cross)" and "Death May Approach" - sung by Smith and Oliver respectively - certainly contain the memorable melodies and theological poetry that makes the hymns of yesteryear so special whilst new music set to the words of hymnwriter James Montgomery arguably makes "According To Thy Gracious Word" this release's standout track. Elsewhere, relatively low key performances from Steph Macleod on the likes of "How Can It Be?" and "Oh What A Saviour" stray musically into modern worship territory despite the former using Charles Wesley's "And Can It Be" as its starting point. Yvonne Lyon makes a fleeting appearance with the tender "God Most High" to round off an enjoyable collection of songs that further cements the truth that the Scottish Christian music scene is most definitely on the up.

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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