When I first heard about Steve, I was worried we were in for another mediocre disappointment. And as I was about to give them my first listen, I couldn't help but think about how much music these days has lacked variety. Well, let's just say Steve didn't disappoint me.

For starters, these four guys come from England, so they naturally carry a lot of British influences. (Note: British influences are second only to Christ) A lot of the songs have that Delirious? worship style/ Oasis melody/ and Beatles string and horn arrangements. Falling Down opens up with "Zealous Core" and "My Ever My All," and features some funky bass lines similar to Beck accompanied by some sweet guitar solos. The album slows down to the more worshipful and passionate "M" ("Majesty"), and "Fine," which I felt was one of the best songs on the album which has a nice acoustic feel with a mix of turntables and electronic noise you'd most likely find offered from Riley Armstrong. The title cut is a good Beatles-style song with nice strings (Second Note: Strings are second only to angelic choirs). "Divine Design" is next, another great song, with a funk feel similar to Jody Davis and the Newsboys disco stint.

The next four songs vary among slow techno and funky bass grooves. "I'm Here" and the six-minute "Mellow" close out the CD exactly as such. "Mellow" is another "highlight," closing out the album with a nice cello mixed in with acoustic guitar and drums. The electric guitar kicks in followed by a few minutes of up and down instrumental pieces.

Some things that seemed to detract, however, were the use of some annoying little beeps and noises throughout the album. Neil Wilson's voice gets a tad annoying on occasion because of his accent and suffers from not being stretched enough and seems to set in to one style and isn't pushed further.

Lyrically, it's very modern worship style like Delirious?' Mezzamorphis album. Songs like "Zealous Core" and "Hunger" talk about God's Sovereignty, which was, until last month's disasterous events in the U.S., something we have forgotten. "Falling Down" talks about how God picking us back up after our frequent falls. "Smile" addresses the challenge of smiling in the midst of trials. And "My Ever My All" and "I'm Here" talk about God's presence. Overall, Falling Down is a very joyous, very upbeat and happy as worship should be.

If you like British rock with a flavor of digital techno noise and classic rock, then you'll like this album.

- Review date: 10/19/01, written by Kevin Chamberlin