26 Letters

Album Review

The biggest challenge for artists new to contemporary Christian music is finding new and original ways to express essentially the same two-way message — the love of God for them, and them for God. Ben Glover is a passionate Richard Marx soundalike who gets off to a great start in this quest with the supercharged rock-flavored title track, which speaks of the inadequacy of words to communicate this: "Twenty-six letters is all I got to tell you how I feel about you." Lyrically, he never quite tops this clever idea, but the rest of the collection is still highly engaging. "Too Many Miracles" is a bluesy funk number that highlights Glover's piano-pounding talent. "Stolen by Mercy" compares God to a "burglar of my soul," and talks of his surprise at a great love in the face of the man he sees in the mirror. "Dancing With Cactus" is a colorful funk-rocker about the dangers of the Godless lifestyle. "Welcome to America" details the way people hide their pain behind pretty houses. And "Hope Will Be My Song" seems to be the candidate here for "most likely to be a worship anthem." It's a crowded field, but Glover's solid voice and great songwriting — and a passing resemblance to genre icon Michael W. Smith — will help establish him as a promising new voice in the wilderness.