Lori Perry - I Found It In You (2006)

Soulful gospel-pop with some old-school '70s R&B influences, Lori Perry's second album is filled not only with testimony, but with admirably real-world snapshots of how one person integrates the spiritual with the physical in her everyday life. A commonplace lyric like "Wrote This Song" (which sketches a small religious epiphany taking place inside a department store) is in some ways more effective than grander but more general odes to the spirit. The album's jazzy arrangements and reliance on proper instruments as well as synthesizers root the album in the deep soul tradition as well as the slicker sounds of much modern CCM, giving I Found It in You a sound with appeal beyond the usual genre listener. Finally, Perry's voice is a lovely instrument that makes songs like "Love Lifted Me" and "I'll Follow You" a joy to listen to even for those who don't necessarily believe in the same way she does.~ Review by Stewart Mason