from: cmcentral.com
author: Robin Parrish
website: http://www.cmcentral.com

»» Paul Colman Trio
New Map Of The World

The Paul Colman Trio is the latest Christian Music import from the land of kangaroos and koala bears. (This Australian thing is becoming a bonafide trend here in the States.) Paul Colman (guitar & vocals) and his two cohorts, Phil Gaudion (drums) and Grant Norsworthy (bass), have already achieved notoriety in their homeland down under, ranking as the country's most successful independent artist in history.

For their part, the Trio (or "PC3") prove that they have an ear for catchy sounds. But musically speaking, their sing-a-long nature is more suited to and more likely to appeal to kids and teenagers rather than the college & up camp. While the hooks are clever and highly memorable (at times annoyingly so), and the music is technically sound and fun to listen to, the listener never takes anything very artistic away from the experience. Only producer Monroe Jones' presence is able to enrich the proceedings with a sense of originality and instrumentational texture.

On the lyrical end, the songs range from worship choruses to reminders of God's love, His nature, His forgiveness, and His desire to have a personal relationship with us. Nothing new or profound here, but good, solid, Biblically-based stuff nonetheless.

New Map of the World is twelve tracks of infectious pop/rock grooves with hints of genuine artistry lining the edges (most especially on the guitar & percussion grooves of songs like "Run" and "Selfish Song," and the beautiful, encouraging word pictures of "I Dream"), with enough simple, fun music to satisfy the tastes of most youth group members. Fans of Audio Adrenaline should enjoy it. But the group's tendency to lean on choruses that sound a bit too much like advertisement jingles will put off discerning ears looking for genuine art.

Robin's rating: 61 %

--Robin Parrish ««