Jess Hammond is a Christian looking to witness to the world using the gifts God has given her.

Revive's second album Trafalgar St has finally arrived and it seems set to put the 'power' back into Christian rock.

After enjoying Mary J Blige's duet of 'One' with U2, I was keen to hear more. I am normally a U2 purist, but this rendition was strong and moving. I also heard through the media that Mary J Blige had recently become a Christian, so I was keen to know more as well...

For years Seattle based rockers Pearl Jam have deliberately avoided public attention wherever possible. So why a major media blitz on the release of their new album? The answer is, Eddie and the boys have found something to say.

Kanye West’s latest effort ‘Late Registration’ is full of confusion and contradiction. Lyrically we see a man with a strong Christian heritage, hopelessly lost to a world of sin. Like any good rapper, West loves talking about himself and is particularly proud of his musical successes and sexual exploits.

After several years working in retail, the notion of Christmas music fills me with dread. The dulcet tones of Bing Cosby reminding shoppers of a winter wonderland when it’s 32 degrees outside is more perverse than celebratory. Most Christmas tunes you hear (unless you’re lucky enough to hear carols) are usually culturally irrelevant – think dashing through snow – or spiritually shallow – anything to do with reindeer. Well Colin Buchanan has changed all that with King of Christmas.

The lyrics that kick off Gyroscope’s new album ‘Are you involved?’ perfectly describe this sensational Aussie act: “You’re such a quiet, quiet achiever.”

Apart from Gear's obvious skill, the impressive thing about this album is it's ability to transport the listener, to reflection on their life and place. In his liner notes Gear writes that, 'the songs on this CD were written in different places over many years' and this can be clearly sensed in the way they evoke different images and thoughts.

Kisschasy - reminds me of games from my childhood. But, unlike childhood games I caught onto Kisschasy quite early. It’s been exciting to see the rise of this young indie band to current fame.

The Overture & The Underscore is a fitting name. It is a perfect oveture to Blasko’s immense potential. It also underscores her beautiful and masterful song writing skills.

There has clearly been a lot riding on the release of The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey's tenth studio album, and thanks to the input of a handful of the hottest producers in music today, Mariah has successfully updated her sound in a market where hip hop is the new pop.

This is not the first time I’ve written in Southern Cross about Hillsong’s material and this album continues with more of the same. If this is next generation worship, it is a generation that is not rebelling from its parents. Musicianship and production quality are again excellent, and it follows the usual pattern – up-tempo stuff first, progressively becoming more reflective, with one or two faster songs in the middle.

Solo artists have always been a staple of the Christian music scene, but a lot of this genre that comes to Southern Cross for review leaves much to be desired. As a result, the play button is often approached with some trepidation – especially if it’s an artist’s first release.

The 2002 release from Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf contained the widely heard track No One Knows – the number one song in Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2002 – and was the band’s break-through album. The follow up was always going to be eagerly awaited and heavily scrutinised.