Score 9/10
In the world of grass roots CCM, in my mind As If… are up there with the likes of Kato (pre ICC). They have been round long enough for you to know that their electo based dance music matures with each recording. This latest offering is a little more commercial than 1998’s “Strange Blue Thing” and therefore should win the band even more new fans.
The opening “Love Is” has a great dance beat to it and some clever Spanish guitar between verses. “All Fall Down” becomes quite funky and benefits from an excellent brass section. “Take me to your leader” is sung to people who worship idols, be they material or other – and asks if they can offer what God gives freely to all. Each track has a website linked to it, such as the title trach which goes to the Royal Horticultural Society site, while “Aberfoyle” is actually an enchanted village in Scotland. As If… continue to stretch their own skills and ideas with this recording, which makes for a progressively interesting listen to really appreciate it properly.