Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

On first listen I thought the opening instrumental a bit lame, but the rest of this set from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based band is pure class. My Epic wrote the songs for this mini-album while working on their 2010 album 'Yet' but rather than the abrasive rock of that set, this is mellower acoustic music. And powerful it is too. The arrangement on "Deathbed" is particularly effective, from the fingerpicked opening (reminding me very much of Heart circa "Dreamboat Annie") lifting into the full-on band sections and dropping back exquisitely. If I was to categorise the sound of the CD, I'd probably go for folk-rock with the songs themselves having a singer-songwriter feel to them that don't require a full band to make work (but the band is a bonus rather than a distraction here). "Garden" has some nice understated harmony work and the guitar work here had echoes of mid-period Genesis. The production throughout is superb, allowing the songs to shine: sparse & empty when needed and full (eg, the end of "Childbodybride") when required. Even the fretboard squeaks in "Doxology" are in place and add to the sound. Don't download individual tracks, just put the CD on and let it run as this is a complete body of work which gets better and better as it goes along.

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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