Reviewed by John Cheek

Albums which take the listener on a journey - as opposed to simply a collection of songs - are usually memorable and 'Broken Beautiful' by British singer/songwriter Chloe is no exception. This particular musical journey is an interior one; an emotional, spiritual rite-of-passage. It starts off uncertainly, however. The title of opener "This Is Who I Am" caused me to groan, as I know I have lost count of the number of times such self-conscious sentiment has been expressed in various ways in popular music. The naïve, gauche lyric is further hampered by being self-contradictory, asserting that "I know this isn't who I'm meant to be" then proclaiming, "This is who I am and I will not pretend" in the next breath fails to bode well. The lyrical blandness continues with "Tell Me The Future" which sounds like an appeal to a fortune-teller for clairvoyant insight with the repeated mantra "Tell me the future/tell me that everything's ok." Que sera sera, Chloe. But then the album picks up spectacularly. With her piano parts as prominent as her vocal delivery, the songs start to really take off and Chloe's sense of vulnerability is harnessed to remarkable affect to arrangements which remind the listener of T'Pau at their 1980s peak, rather than hanging around with Elton John or Leo Sayer in the '70s. This is intelligent, emotionally-informed pop-rock where a relationship with God is both implied and explicit. The decision to choose a standout then grows harder with each song; the title-track shows a remarkably-mature attitude to life which many of us will only want to relate to. If we empathise with Reynolds here, then "Still Here", with a Jess Glynne-esque vocal and a gospel choir coming in on the chorus, will lift us still higher. Things are building to a crescendo and it comes with the penultimate track, "Yours To Shine", where the various characteristics of Chloe Reynolds - talent, vulnerability, faith and humility - are fully realised. This is quickly followed by a semi-lullaby to a now grown sibling, "Baby Sister", the album's closer. Growing up in public can be famously difficult; here Chloe Reynolds bares her soul and suggests that she has the potential to become the most notable female artist to emerge from Christian music in the UK.

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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