Steven Curtis Chapman has been doing his thing for longer than I’ve been alive, so it feels a little bit unfair to criticise him. Not because of the length of his career, but because his MO has been so clear for all those years. Basically, he makes music for people who don’t really like music: so bland and smooth that you hardly even notice that you’re listening to it.

Re:Creation, a mix of new songs and rerecorded older ones, is more of the same. It’s that polished acoustic pop sound so common in CCM, whose closest analogue is probably John Mayer at his most syrupy.

Lyrically, Curtis Chapman is at least very clear and articulate, which makes most of his songs sound a lot like excerpts from a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Chances are, it’ll be your friend (or Mum) who only buys two albums each year who loves this album. Show them you really love them and buy them an album by Bon Iver, Jon Foreman or Ray LaMontagne instead. They’ll thank you in the long run.

Two stars out of five