The Christian market has a strong history of female singer-songwriters, I know when I was in my early teens the likes of Susan Ashton and Carolyn Arends were producing really good songs, and more recently we have had some great material from Kate Miner and Jennifer Knapp. Sara Groves, therefore, has a long legacy to live up too, not just from other artists, but also from her own previous releases which have established her popularity. Thankfully, with 'Add to the Beauty' Sara has more than met the high expectations of her.
With this album Sara serves up 13 beautifully crafted songs, with well written and passionate words combining well with her folk tinged acoustic style to create a really great listening experience. The album has a real mature feel musically, with a confident air of a person who is really on top of their game. The albums theme is the Kingdom of God, so therefore it is perhaps fitting that my favourite cut is track ten, 'Kingdom Comes' which is upbeat song, with a good tempo and a catchy chorus, it has the folky-rock edge which we sometimes see in the likes of Sheryl Crow. 'Add to the Beauty' is similarly paced and another track to look out for, while 'Rewrite this tragedy' tells with beautiful honesty about personal changes, breaking away from things and connecting with “a better story, of true love, of true grace, a hope of glory.”
Sara's album is lyrically brilliant, and she has a truly beautiful voice which really does justice to her passionate songs, and weaves together to form an album that will become, I'm sure a favourite for lots of people and one that should stand the test of time, as it resists musical gimmicks and instead uses passionate feeling to leave a lasting effect.
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