Reviewed by Elliot Rose

In May 2013 a tornado tore through Oklahoma City, its 200mph winds destroying homes, schools and medical centres, killing 24 people and devastating thousands. Around the corner at Victory Church, the house band Warr Acres have produced a downloadable single in order to raise spirits and funds to help the victims of the neighbourhood. "Hope Will Rise" starts with a calm but eerie guitar/keyboard intro, with the familiarly formulaic VI-IV-I-V chord structure. The initially soft vocals increase in passion and harmonies as the drums build, eventually kicking the whole band into full flow before dropping into a pulsing mid-section. As the crescendo peaks, we re-enter the chorus, now larger than before - the two vocal sections overlapping hectically until the storm finally passes, leaving the original ambient arrangement to close the single. Although the record is certainly filled to the brim with emotion, the repetition is somewhat uninspiring - the same melody line repeats for the majority of the song, and the lyrics don't vary enough to distract from it, though the mid-section is a little more inventive. The heart and enthusiasm is to be commended, but my musical thirst was left slightly unquenched.

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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