Natalie Grant isn’t any blood relationship to Amy Grant, but she moves in the same waters: Contemporary Christian Pop-Rock, I guess, though Natalie’s got a more modern sound, not to mention a significantly better voice, than Amy’s easy listening vibe. But you don’t even need the details. You can hear what this album sounds like in your head right now if I just tell you, it’s a typical alternative diva album; it’s got kind of crunchy guitars, but soaring melodies and inspirational lyrics about holding on and pressing on and being strong and living life and, you know, they’re vaguely Christian if you turn your head and squint. You get it. The songs are mediocre, with one exception. Grant has pipes, no question; she’s got a big range and a lot of power, but no actual soul. The musician ship is proficient, but also soulless; it’s a mediocre pop album basically where the songs all basically sound the same. Except for Held, which was, as memory serves, Grant’s biggest hit and it deserved to be. It’s written from the perspective of a parent who has just lost their infant child to death; it’s sharply written and full of pain and anger. Even the rhyme schemes and rhythms are kind of jagged and off-kilter. It’s a really wonderful song that both allows for the pain of tragedy and the affirmation of faith to co-exist, as they so often do in this world. It’s the one song I’d keep off this record; the rest of it can go. 2 stars.
tl;dr – forgettable, almost entirely soulless pop record is technically fine, but there’s nothing really there; boasts one truly great song, but the rest of the album is mediocre at best. 2 stars.