Reviewed by Tony Cummings

This team come from Tupelo, Mississippi but don't expect Southern rock and blues re-treads. The band have an ambitious sound that sounds like a cross between Muse and Mae and with some fine production from Rob Graves (Red) who weaves strings and elegant piano into the walls of howling guitars to make a quixotic mix of sounds, hard and heavy one second, intricate and wistful the next. Two of the songs here, "Part One" and "Madmen", are directly inspired by CS Lewis' allegorical novel The Great Divorce and both work well while the first single from the project, the elegant "Praise And Adore" has been taken up by some US radio stations as a worship anthem though it isn't really that. In fact throughout lead singer Dave Stovall shows himself to be an exceptional lyricist with the ability to bring spiritual insights which are neither simplistic or clouded in obscure metaphor. From the first cut "Introducing" where strings and classical piano establish a darkly elegant waltz before the track explodes into a wall of guitar and drums this is thinking man's rock over which Stovall's powerful vocals ride with passion and pathos. An exceptional debut from a band with the musical intelligence to stay around a fair while.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.