"Why should the devil get all the good music?" used to be the refrain heard in Christian music circles, a sentiment roundly answered by a contemporary explosion of successful gospel-oriented pop that's embraced everything from folk to metal and hip-hop. This debut solo release from the frontman of the idiosyncratic, folk-rooted contemporary gospel group Burlap to Cashmere covers an impressive musical range, from simmering semi-confessionals to the social critique of "Daisies and Sandalwood" and the playful romp "Rocky Boat," all of them wrapped in the evocative textures of producer Monroe Jones (this is the debut release of Jones' own Eb+Flo label). But while the Christian message is central to the album's concerns, Delopoulos's ambitious songs and performances inherently begs comparison to NYC songwriters like Paul Simon, Harry Chapin, and even Bob Dylan--though his gifts for lyrical allegory are occasionally mired in the latter's Slow Train Coming/Saved sense of the demi-pedantic. Still, there's an urgency and often Gordon Lightfoot-esque warmth that won't be denied here, underscored by the musician's forceful acoustic guitar textures and impressive range of composition. --Jerry McCulley
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