Michelle Tumes
Self-titled
Levantar
11 tracks @ 39:55
Grade = A

            Michelle Tumes is back.  YEA!

            I dug through my CDs and this is Michelle’s first full length CD since 2001. It is worth the wait.  Michelle’s first two records are among my favorites and her new record, an independent release, follows along those lines.

            Reoccurring themes include; God is always present, and nature.  Among my favorite tracks are “Introint, “Domine,” and “Caelum Infinitum.”  In her linear notes Michelle writes, “Sometimes to me another language such as a Latin word helps to give a new perspective and touches the soul beyond the boundaries of language.”  Don’t worry!  The lyrics to these songs are in English.

            “Far” includes the insightful lyric, “I tried to fight but I’m my opponent.”  I also liked the up-tempo “Lovely Day,” inspired by her Mum, and “Break Through.”

            Michelle’s music has an ethereal quality to it, a sound you won’t hear very often in CCM.  She wrote, or co-wrote all of the songs and also arranged and conducted the strings.

            I had an informal chat with her a couple of years ago.  Check out the November, 2004 issue of AlphaOmegaNews for a summary of our conversation.

            This is one of the few CDs that I’ve found worth purchasing this year. Go to her website to get the record.  I hope we don’t have to wait another five years for Michelle’s next record.

- Rob S.

www.MichelleTumes.com