One of Sparrow Records's most recent signees is Sarah Reeves; with an appealing enough debut EP under her belt, she's already presented her follow up project, God of the Impossible EP, containing three new songs for CCM radio stations everywhere.
The title track gives a reasonable indication of the whole EP: crisp pop radio production paired with soothing likeable vocals. While the overall message of "God of the Impossible" is inarguable (as worship music almost always is), the lyrics feel a bit flat, overused, and aimless ("God of the impossible/Maker of all miracles/I stand in awe of You/I'm so amazed by how You reach into my brokenness/Make me beautiful again/I believe nothing is impossible with You"). Everything Reeves sings is nothing but the truth, but there doesn't seem to be any constant theme linking anything together. "Father's Prayer" fares a bit better; with original verses, the Lord's Prayer serves as the song's chorus, and while the concept of putting literal, word-for-word Scripture in the music has been done time after time, "Father's Prayer" avoids seeming like a retread. Lastly is "Near To Us," relating Christ's reliability in times of trouble.
One overall problem ingrained in this release is the lack of any real musical variety. Sweet Sweet Sound EP, while it had more material to experiment with, had a lot more going for it musically, with a balanced mix of both the upbeat ("Fresh Anointing," "Awaken Us") and the held back ("Sweet Sweet Sound," "Come Save"). However, with three songs that follow the constant formula, it feels like twelve minutes of the same music with different lyrics attached periodically. This issue also reveals another drawback; Sarah Reeves's vocals don't tend to vary nearly enough in individual songs. We already know what Reeves's pipes can do and how far she can stretch her abilities based on previous material, but one wouldn't know it from this EP. The vocals aren't challenging enough to merit special attention, and with such a short release such as this, it's a missed opportunity.
Granted, three songs isn't a lot to work with, but with the lack of quantity, the quality isn't particularly strong here either. With thrown-together songwriting and an underwhelming sound, Reeves' second release doesn't particularly pique any new interest beyond 2009's Sweet Sweet Sound EP. Give this EP a skip, but looking into her first Sparrow release wouldn't hurt if one hasn't already.
- Review date: 5/27/10, written by Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout.com
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