Tim Hughes: Holding Nothing Back

So I tore into “Holding Nothing Back,” Hughes’ upcoming release from Sparrow/Survivor Records, with great anticipation. And that can sometimes be a problem in itself…. an inevitable disappointment in light of great expectations. Let me put your mind at ease: “Holding Nothing Back” does not disappoint.

Teaming Nathan Nockels and Matt Bronleewe in the production seats, and bringing Delirious?’s Martin Smith in to co-write two tracks, as well as Stu G to sing backup and play guitar, it’s hard to imagine failure on any level. Actually, a few tracks have a strong Delirious? flavor to them, including the opener and first single “Happy Day,” glorying in the riches of salvation through a haze of electric guitars. Other tracks come across as classic Tim Hughes, like the atmospheric “God of Justice,” building to a crescendo of passion, thick with sound, and the powerful ballad co-written with his wife, Rachel, “Living For Your Glory.” The latter is definitely one of the project’s standout tracks, resonating with Hughes’ solid sincerity.

There’s a nice mix of wailing rockers (“Centre Of It All” and the joyous and electrifying title track, celebrating our freedom to follow God) and melodic anthems (the majestic “Almighty God” and the quiet power of closer “Take the World.”) Several tracks move into brief moments of free-flowing worship, like the melodic “Clinging to the Cross,” displaying an air of mystery even as Hughes exposes his desperate need for the cross of Christ. A must-mention is the moving piano ballad “Everything,” a track dripping with fervency. There’s a reason the songs of Tim Hughes grab hold of the worshipper’s soul so forcefully; “Holding Nothing Back” contains eleven of them. Listen to them all on April 3rd.

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