Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Midlands-based singer/songwriter Halligan's new album is the latest in a long line of quality releases that showcase the experienced troubadour's ability to offer up passionate, heartfelt songs about faith and life in accessible and memorable fashion. With Foundry Music Lab's dream team of Graeme Duffin and Sandy Jones once again at the helm, Halligan's songs are given the treatment they deserve and numbers such as the call to unity "Common Language" and the God-to-man song "I Can't Make You Walk" contain the right amount of production polish whilst allowing the man's trademark gritty vocals and faith-on-sleeve lyrics to shine through. Alongside the more fully-fleshed tracks, this release also sees Halligan in familiar stripped-back territory with the likes of the beautiful piano song "Fearfully And Wonderfully" and the Billy Bragg-like "Pride Of Place" - an ode to the courage of the black athletes who took part in the Nazi-tinged 1936 Berlin Olympics - reflecting the writer's faith in God and an overriding social conscience respectively. Succeeding in keeping things varied stylistically, the slow blues of "Without Your Fire" prompts a stellar vocal performance from Halligan together with some impassioned guitar work from Duffin whilst remade versions of a couple of older numbers - "Streets Of This Town" and "Dancing With Seagulls" - top another accomplished release.

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