The Review Zone – Anchor Music : My Hope Is In You @AnchorMusicUK

ANCHOR MUSIC : My Hope Is In You. (www.anchormusic.co.uk or iTunes download)

This is a live worship album, which lasts over an hour. It was recorded at a conference in Harrogate last year. The music on offer here is quite powerful sounding rock / pop style, with lots of strings and guitars in the background. Kicking off with a short synth intro, the first track is a fairly laid back worship song, also it’s the title track of this album. The next few tracks are pretty much in the same vein really, in fact there’s not much variation in pace or style until Track 6, which is called “When You Walk Into The Room” which features a different singer. This track kind of redeemed the whole thing for me, I found the lack of variation to be a bit boring personally. All the songs on offer here are quite good in themselves, I could quite easily listen to any of them on their own, all together though, the whole thing in one sitting was a bit of an effort.

There is at the end a version of “Be Thou My Vision” though, which is probably the best song on the album for me. Despite my comments about this being a bit on the tedious side it is still not a bad album. It just worked better for me dipping in and out of it rather than listening to the whole thing. There does appear to be a strong “Hillsongs” influence throughout, so if you like this kind of music you would most likely enjoy this. 7/10   Andy Sayner.

 

 

‘COLLECTIVE VOICES’, Volume I, a compilation of new UK grassroots worship music from a selection of up and coming songwriters.

Born from a shared vision to pour into worship into the United Kingdom, The Collective has formed to offer a platform for the expression of creative worship across the country, to raise up future generations of passionate, nation changing worshippers. Through retreats, conferences, collaborations and sharing experiences, The Collective draws together creatives to build relationship and form connections in order to equip and inspire one another and ultimately create drawing on each person’s unique journey of faith.

This debut release demonstrates the strength of The Collective community, with offerings from worship leaders from across the UK. For some, this is their debut release, whereas others have been releasing music in their own right for many years, but The Collective has brought them together for the first time on this 10 track digital EP release.

Artists included are: Ian Yates, Matt Hill, The Bright Expression, Ryan Baker-Barnes, Anchor Music, Jonny Shepherd, Lucy Grimble, Kanyons, and Andy Smith.

Stream & Download from:. https://thecollectiveuk.bandcamp.com

http://www.noisetrade.com/thecollectiveuk/collective-voices-volume-1

The Review Zone – Anchor Music : Hope of Glory

ANCHOR MUSIC : Hope of Glory. (www.anchormusic.co.uk)

Anchor Music is a collection of worshippers from Vinelife Church Manchester. The EP features 6 homegrown tracks lead by four new worship leaders. ‘Hope of Glory’ also marks the first release from those connecting with The Collective, a new movement seeking to bring together creative worshippers from across the UK. Let me say straight off, that this release contains refreshing sounds and some very strong vocals. Penny Larkman is one of the vocalists, and what a pleasing vocal quality she has. “Who can stand against me, if my God is for me?”, is the main thrust of the song ‘Anchor’. God, being the “anchor of my soul”. The title track contains some very run of the mill lyrics, such as “Your death has set me free”, but the song itself is catchy and well produced. Ruth Hill’s voice is simply beautiful on ‘Breathe on Me’. It begins with just a piano backing, and then the sound carefully fills. Indeed, some ethereal vocals and music towards the end of the track, gives the listener the chance to meditate and quietly worship. ‘On the Cross’ is an uplifting song, with Louise Gregg taking over the vocals, while ‘All That We Want’ sees Penny return to lead a worshipful love song to God. I didn’t like ‘This Is Where You’ll Find Me’, when I first heard it, as it didn’t appeal to me as much as the other tracks. However, giving it a second listen, I really enjoyed it’s intimacy, compared to the higher energy of the rest of the EP. On this production, Anchor Music can congratulate themselves on a really good debut.   8/10.