Review:

Mercy Giver

I confess, I wondered whether I would finish this disc wishing that churches would stick to making a local difference and let musicians make the music.

But once it started I had to think again, thanks to the energizing funk of ‘Once I Was Lost’, built on a vibrant riff that never outstays its welcome. Plainly, this multicultural church can move the body as well as the spirit.

Sadly, the following track undid it with enough cheese and corn to fill a snack factory. There are some very fine moments: at the end of ‘In View of God’s Mercy’ everything seems to hang in reverent stillness. They caught the mood of worship, even in the studio.

Church releases are almost bound to be patchy and the lingering taste is of copycat moments (a brazen Newsboys rip-off here, Hillsong pastiche there, and singing ‘I Surrender All’ yet again) tainting those lovely devotional spells and clear sound.

HIGH: ‘Once I Was Lost’ and several slower, atmospheric moments.

LOW: The second-hand approach to some songs.

Published by: Independent