Spirit Break Out

Personnel: Myles Dhillon (rap vocals); Tom Smith (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Alex Nifong, Stephen Evans (electric guitar); Sam Cox (keyboards, background vocals); Ben Cantelon, Stephen Harding (keyboards); Tim Cooke, Ben Bryant (drums, percussion); Joel Farland (percussion); Anna Hellebronth (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Sam Gibson.
Photographers: Andy Hutch; Marc Gilgen.
Achieving their ambitions of "seeing the name of Jesus lifted high all around the world, from the church to the charts," Worship Central, a London-based international worship training and resource center, became the first Christian worship band to reach the U.K. Top 75 with their second release, Spirit Break Out. Recorded live at the HMV Forum in front of 2,000 enthusiastic worshipers, it's not difficult to see why their anthemic stadium rock sound has struck a chord with a younger spiritual audience. The pounding rhythms, reverb-drenched guitars, and group leader Tim Hughes' yearning vocals on opener "Spirit of the Living God" turns the classic hymn into a Doves-esque slice of indie rock, "At Your Name" and "Now Is the Time for Us" could give Snow Patrol a run for their money in the impassioned epic guitar ballad sweepstakes, and the chugging basslines and new wave synths of "Wake Up" (which, alongside "Counting on Your Name," also features on Hughes' solo album Love Shine Through) could have been lifted from the Strokes' last record. But despite its string of male lead singers, it's the sole female voice that steals the show, as Nikki Fletcher's light airy tones provide the perfect foil for the chiming melancholy of "Wait for You" and the warm synth-laden closer, "All Glory." Other than a rather ill-advised rap on the tribal-tinged title track, Spirit Break Out feels like a natural attempt to reach out to a mainstream audience rather than a pandering to the contemporary pop scene, and even without its religious references, the album is still a resolutely uplifting and inspirational affair. ~ Jon O'Brien