Matthew West knows his pop music, having written tunes for everyone from
Natalie Grant to
Point of Grace, and
The Story of Your Life is filled with the same hooky uplift he brings to his hired-gun work.
West occasionally ghostwrites for secular artists, too, but this is a thoroughly Christian album, with slick CCM arrangements (think a PG-rated mix of
the Fray and
Coldplay, with more acoustic guitars and smooth-sanded edges) and sermon-styled lyrics inspired by
West’s own fan mail. ~ Andrew Leahey