Reviewed by Andy Shaw

Galactus Jack (real name Ben Jack) is an award winning DJ and producer currently based in Manchester. Originally part of house music outfit Aorta, Jack is now part of The Message Trust, an organisation working to bring the good news of Jesus to young people through music and dance. Having focused on other projects over the last two years, this record brings eight tracks of new material to go with a new live show to further spread the message. The sound is centred in EDM but draws on a range of influences providing variety throughout from heavier house to trance to more pop-orientated tracks. "Eternal" eases you in, providing an instrumental introduction before launching into the audio roller-coaster of "Initiate" contrasting huge and heavy drops with lighter euphoric sections providing a real party atmosphere that will surely go down well at the live shows. There are a number of collaborations on the record drawing on other artists connected with The Message Trust to keep the sound fresh. Rapper Crown Freedom from Vital Signs brings in a hip-hop influence on "Antidote" with Lucy Speakman from the band Brightline bringing her vocal talents to another pumped up dance anthem in "Captured". The collaborations come thick and fast with celebrated producer Geek Boy lending his talents to "#SQUAD" providing a full throttle party anthem complete with a break beat breakdown. The pace of the record mellows out through the final three tracks although the energy is still felt as a thread that runs through the whole record. "Heaven" is the most pop-orientated track on the record with simple piano chords through the down tempo verses, featuring a great performance from Lucy West (LZ7/BlushUK/Vienna) on vocals. The record closes with a track that stands out from the rest of the record in terms of the style and feel. Where much of the record focuses on rapid high contrast drops, "Life" starts out with a laid back vibe and gradually builds to a climactic trance influenced finale. There is a raw passion that shines through this record and you can't help but be impacted.

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.