The last Passion project, 2010’s Awakening, began with Chris Tomlin performing the slow-building, anthemic rock title track. 2011’s Here For You begins the same way. The 2010 version featured uneventful interludes from the likes of Kristian Stanfill and Christy Nockels. This year’s model is no different.

Thankfully, the 2010 version was injected with a bit of creativity via the David Crowder Band’s “Like A Lion.” Cometh 2011, cometh the David Crowder Band; their song “Shadows” enlivens proceedings on Here For You and even features an inspired guest rap from Lecrae.

All of this to say, if you approach the latest Passion album as a resource for congregational worship, it’s serviceable but also fairly bland, with one or two bright spots. But as a whole the album is pervaded by a sense of going through the motions, which, I imagine is hard to avoid when you’re releasing a live worship album a year.

If you’re a modern worship fan who hasn’t yet picked up a Passion album, you’ll probably like this one. For the rest of us, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all.

Two and a half stars out of five.

– Rhett Snell
www.drone.co.nz