The Light Meets The Dark isn’t an album that clamours for attention. Instead, the music is more subtle, creeping up on you slowly but surely. This is smart pop-rock, treading the mainstream like a mixture of Travis and Damien Rice, but with the indie sensibilities of Death Cab For Cutie.

Songs float by with comforting, warm melodies, but every now and then they take unpredictable turns, whether through a dark, dissonant bass line or an especially spare arrangement. Of course, that means that some may find this album a little sleepy at first, though the pay-off is to be found in repeated listens.

 

Lyrically, Tenth Avenue North deal with themes like faith and brokenness, and for the most part they manage to steer clear of speaking Christianese. My main critique is that quite a few of these songs bear a bit too much of that Nashville production sheen, bringing a “Photoshopped” quality to the music. But that shouldn’t stop you from at least checking out this very decent release.

Three and a half out of five stars.