Reviewed by Tony Cummings

By my reckoning, Idle Cure have made three albums previous to this one and, I suppose, they're there somewhere in the Cummings' Archives though it's dust, not plays, they've collected. I cannot report one lick of music staying in the ol' grey matter previously. Undeniably formulaic in everything they do, Idle Cure have previously seemed pedestrian recyclers of all those classic AOR riffs lacking the imagination to rise above CCM's hinterland of pale imitators. So this album proved to be a full fronted assault on my expectations of mediocrity. It's not that the band have suddenly changed musical direction (though there is a touch of Springsteen and Melcamp in their current hard rocking brew). It's just that the hooks are stronger while the production, mightily aided by a tougher-than-tough mix from Dave Johnson, crunches straight to the cranium. The lyrics, too, go a little deeper than previous evangelical sloganeering. Whether you pick the powerful "We've Lost Ground" or the haunting evocation of Psalm 99:9, "Holy Ground", this is an exceptional AOR album, on a par with Christendom's finest. Search it out.

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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