Brandon Heath represents a certain world perfectly. That would be the world of Nashville Contemporary Christian Music, where every song sounds like it was crafted with a Grey’s Anatomy finale in mind. Heath is a male singer-songwriter whose sound is buffed to such a shine that it makes the likes of Bebo Norman and The Fray sound like Iggy Pop. Almost every song features weepy strings, acoustic guitar and boy-band drum samples.

All of this is used to soundtrack painfully obvious and obtuse lyrics like, “Teacher is hiding her Bible but at least she’s got a job / My local Salvation Army just got robbed.”

I’ve got no doubt that kind of album has mass appeal, and in general there’s nothing wrong with mass appeal. What is wrong is that this album just sounds uninspiring and bland, and it hardly ever gets out of first gear. Maybe that’s because that gear is stuck in the syrupy treacle that passes for emotion on this record. Leaving Eden is paint-by-numbers music, and it’s ultimately worth ignoring when there are other masterpieces on display.

Two out of five stars