Transform

The new project from Rebecca St. James starts off with a short and gentle orchestral introduction, and is immediately followed by "For the Love of God," which features an electronic rock loop reminiscent of U2's "Discotechque." Such is an example of the interesting mesh of sounds found on Transform, Rebecca's fourth album with Forefront Records. The merging of beautiful pop with electronica is certainly not anything new for Rebecca, as anyone who has heard her previous album Pray knows. But it's never been done to such spectacular effect as on Transform. The album's title refers to the transforming power of God as described in 2 Corinthians 3:18, but it doesn't seem to be a running theme throughout the album. Still, at least Rebecca's lyrics are as passionate and heartfelt as ever.

The London Sessions Orchestra is a fantastic addition to Rebecca's ethereal rock sound on tracks like "For the Love of God" and "Merciful," as well as the strong and anthemic "Stand," which feels like something Rebecca could have sung at the Olympics. There's some wonderful acoustic guitar work layered over a dance beat on "Wait For Me," a love song written as a plea for purity to her future husband. I like the fact that Rebecca takes chances musically, going for different song styles throughout the album. She has a good vocal range, which she's always demonstrated by doing background vocals on her past albums, but this time she displays it more in her lead vocals with the occasional high note and aggressive growl. Of course a lot of credit needs to be given to primary producer Matt Bronleewe (Jars of Clay, Plumb) for helming such a big production and displaying Rebecca's vocal and songwriting skills so well....

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