CD Review - Heart

Audrey Assad rose to prominence with her critically-acclaimed debut album The House You're Building, which was the iTunes "Breakthrough Album of 2010" and Amazon.com's Best Christian Music of 2010.

Heart is her follow up album and it has already met with critical success, as it was top of the iTunes ® Christian & Gospel Albums chart and reached No. 18 on the overall iTunes ® Albums chart in its first week.

Heart is a flawless and emotional depiction of the beauty and majesty of the Creator’s "Heart.", in the vein of other recent great albums such as Invisible Empires by Sara Groves and Albertine by Brooke Fraser.

Assad's roots are deeply embedded in the vintage sounds of classic songwriters and sacred music, and she's always seemed most at home with poetic writing and an elegant, stripped-down style.

Heart is an honest collection of songs, showcasing Assad’s lovely voice, piano work, and introspective lyrics and presenting them in a collection of engaging and meaningful songs.

At the root of Assad’s work is the fact that she is a gifted storyteller, almost Psalmist like in her honesty and this makes a areal difference in both the quality, and the draw of her sound.  She has a deep sense of truth and transparency which is a rare quality for an artist and this shines through in some of the standout tracks such as Lament, Breaking You and O My Soul.

If for some reason Assad flew under the radar with The House You’re Building (not likely, since it was so critically acclaimed), the secret is out now and its worth shouting about.

Heart not only defines Assad’s signature style, but also shows her at her best; and when she is at her best, no other singer gets close to her.

By Martin Barratt