Award-winner’s “ambitious” album

Thursday, July 11, 2013
Send Me

Amy Cherry

On the eve of the release of Send Me (Psalter Music), Amy Cherry won the Psalter Music Prize at the Manifest Creative Arts Festival for her song “Your All.” It proved to be a worthy introduction to this collection of original, piano-based songs.

The nine songs on Send Me—“A Gift From Above” is an instrumental—each have something important to say. Often directly referencing Bible passages or stories, Send Me is reminiscent of classic contemporary Christian music such as early Amy Grant or Sandi Patty albums. Lesser songwriting might sink beneath the weight of the message but the songs on Send Me have a dramatic sensibility and atmosphere that is ready for the mission.

While Amy plays piano and carries the vocals with strong voice, additional instrumentation comes from what seems to be the usual Psalter crew, with a vocal cameo from the Mt Druitt Youth Choir. These musicians offer a healthy palette of sounds and textures to Amy’s songs, from the upbeat “Be Strong” to the more meditative but standout track “The Great I Am.”

Send Me is an ambitious and strong album. The music is memorable and the lyrics will leave you with something about which to think.

Nathan Brown is book editor at Signs Publishing Company and co-convenor of the Manifest Creative Arts Festival.

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Nathan Brown
Author

Nathan Brown

Nathan is Book Editor at Signs Publishing. He is a former magazine editor, a published writer and an author or editor of more than a dozen books. He is also a co-convener of Manifest, a community exploring, encouraging and celebrating faithful creativity.