Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

Grace are an alterative worship community based at St Mary's Church, Ealing that has been going since 1993 and who, under the leadership of singer, songwriter, record producer and theologian Jonny Baker, has become the leading force in Britain's alternative worship movement. 'Landskapes' is clearly to be viewed more as a resource for worship events than an album/collection of songs. Producer Matt Stephens and others, who are involved in the community, have created, in their words, "ambient, chilled, spoken word, lazy house, drum and bass, and dubstep" music too, to bring those who experience it into the presence of God. The disc kicks off with "Lightness" which is a bit too quiet for my liking and then into "Water". These two initially blend into one another such is their restraint but after a few listens you can distinguish between the two and appreciate them individually. It is not until "Contaminate" that the albums pace picks up a little and also the first real spoken words are found. This song is one of the highlights of the album. On "Dust" we get Dubb who was Edinburgh's 2010 slam poet champion, but for me, although the delivery is good, the song really grates on me musically. My favourite track is the drum and bass remix by the Grace Guys of "Nothing In The Way" by America's Agents Of Future. On the negative side, some of the songs here are simply not very memorable.

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.