iheartmusic.com

Like far too many other music blogs, I generally stay within a comfortable niche with the music I listen to. I may make a show of listening primarily to Canadian music, but the fact is, for the most part it's all pretty easily classifiable within the broad heading of indie rock.

This is why I'm so happy to be able to write about The Sojourners. After all, it's not often I come across a straight-up, old-tyme gospel group, but Hold On falls pretty squarely under that category. It's got gorgeous vocal harmonies accompanied by minimal instrumentation, and songs like "Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb" and "Children Go Where I Send Thee" are simply gorgeous. Even people whose tastes run towards the adamantly secular should find at least one thing here to enjoy, in the form of the trio's cover of Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready" -- though even there, The Sojourners bring the song's spiritual meaning to the fore.

Of course, you'd have to be pretty churlish to find fault with them there, and I'm certainly not going to do that. Hold On is a phenomenal album, and an excellent reminder that sometimes it's important to look beyond your usual tastes, because it can often lead to wonderful things.

-Matthew - iheartmusic.com