Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Hard working band, cut some time from touring to record their third CD. Jenny Simmons' stylistic air-laden vocals hold the guitar framework together and give the band their focal point. Not that Jenny is the star of the outfit; she's mixed low enough yet high enough for this to be a band rather than musicians playing their instruments for some girl to sing to. Guitarist Ryan Gregg offers some support by way of backing vocals along with Travis Lawrence (bass) and Ryan Simmons (guitar, piano). 11 cuts for our entertainment and edification, the most delectable of which is "The Only Thing", it's honey and lemon for the sore throat of those suffering from tuneless mediocrity. The guitars are fat, although it sounds to me like the wall of sound tracks have been compressed, but not to the detriment of dynamics, not much anyway. Jeff Sutton plays drums like he enjoys it, not worrying too much about finer details when in means sacrificing feel. The songs maintain their quality right to the end of the album, no weaker tracks pushed to the back of the running order here.

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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