Detour One Eighty showed promise on their U.S. label debut, the part-worship, part-intrinsic rock outing
Fighting for You. Although the New Zealand quintet put out an earnest collection of pop/rock, it was overshadowed by a number of groundbreaking releases that also dropped in the fall of 2006 (
Jars of Clay's
Good Monsters,
Newsboys'
Go and
Decemberadio's self-titled debut, to name a few). Stylistically the group suffers from a sort of identity crisis, shuffling songwriting credits and lyrical directions. Former bassist/now-producer/engineer Jono Scarlet came away with the most songwriting credits, having co-written six of the twelve tracks. This would lead one to believe that his material would naturally give the band its identity, but the most characteristic tracks are the three written or co-written by vocalist Adrian Robertson. The clean-voiced singer showcases his ability to craft accessible modern rock on "Fade Away," "Forever" and the title track. Opening track "By the Time" boasts a buoyant punk-pop feel before the album falls into a well-trodden path of worship anthems. "You Know My Name," "Back to the Cross" and "See My Saviour" are interchangeable with literally hundreds of similar-sounding praise songs. Lying underneath, however, is a wealth of talent that could show potential with stronger production and more unique lyrical content. ~ Jared Johnson