The problem with
Kari Jobe's
Donde Te Encuentro -- her second Spanish-language album and companion piece to her sophomore release,
Where I Find You -- has nothing to do with the disc's lively praise choruses or the singer's lovely voice, let alone her heart for worship. Heck, even the music is fine by CCM standards. Instead, the problem lies in the song translations, which often sound like awkward, word-for-word renderings that fall short of proper adaptations. One need not listen further than the hook of the leadoff track, "A Mi Corazón Tranquilizarás," to notice the awkwardness: God is almost reduced to the level of an anti-anxiety drug. That was the same problem with
Jobe's first Spanish release,
Le Canto, which relied on the same source material as her self-titled debut, but often sounded as if it were wrought through online translator. Some songs fare well, like the rousing "Mi Mayor Pasión" and "Mi Salvador," which benefit from driving refrains and plenty of congregational appeal.
Jobe herself enunciates properly and sings with pathos, doing justice to songs that sound wonderful if one's first language isn't español, but that otherwise may raise eyebrows among hardcore Latin gospel listeners. ~ Andree Farias