After 17 years with Newsboys, Peter Furler decided it was time to slow down and focus on his family. Yet, two years later, his first solo album has arrived. And from the first moment, On Fire comes across as a slightly underwhelming late-period Newsboys album, which still makes it substantially better than anything Furler’s old band have released since his departure.

But On Fire also maintains that late-period Newsboys tendency to let albums get hijacked by dull worship lyrics. Back in the day, when Newsboys sang about the miracle of being transformed and renewed by the Spirit, they sang about “The kind of change that would make an Eskimo renounce fur / That would make a vegetarian barbeque a hamster.” It was funny and it was smart.

Nowadays, Furler sings about the same topic this way: “I’m alive, I’m on fire / And my spirit burns with desire / I wanted to thank you.” It may be more direct and “worshipful” but it’s more boring too. Thankfully there’s still a lot here to enjoy, but not quite enough to truly fill that classic Newsboys gap.

Three stars out of five

– Rhett Snell