To be quite honest, sometimes I find it a little difficult to distinguish between one pretty, young, new contemporary Christian female artist and another. I miss the days of Leslie Phillips, Jennifer Knapp, and Maggie Becker at her best. So I was a little surprised when I listened to the first track of Christian pop songstress Natalie Grant, and it actually sounded almost rock and roll. In fact, as a whole, “Relentless” as a whole has more maturity and variety than what I have heard of her previous efforts.

Grant attacks the theme of unwavering pursuit of a relationship with God from a variety of angles on “Relentless”–from the funky pop mix found on “So Long” to her powerhouse performance on her anthem-like cover of “In Christ Alone.” Her current radio hit “In Better Hands” is worthy of all the airplay it is receiving, with its tender reflection on trust in God no matter what.
Grant does return to some of her safer pop roots on more predictable fair like “Perfect People,” “Back of My Heart,” and “Our Hope Endures,” but there are more hits than misses on “Relentless.” It will no doubt please her old fans while gaining her some new ones.