Church of Sky

Album Review

Ancient-Future Records has described Church of Sky as a contemporary folk/new age album. Well, the contemporary folk part is correct (contemporary folk-pop if you want to be really specific), but this acoustic-oriented effort is not a new age vocal release — certainly not in the way that Enya's output falls into the new age vocal category. Stylistically, the wife/husband team known as Shantala has a lot more in common with Joan Baez, Sandy Denny, Janis Ian, Eliza Gilkyson, and even, to a degree, early Heart (not the Wilson sisters' hard rock recordings — Church of Sky is far from hard rock — but some of their early folk-minded ballads such as "Dream of the Archer," "How Deep It Goes," and "Dreamboat Annie"). So why would Ancient-Future use the term new age in connection with this CD when it isn't really new age? Because using the term new age can be an effective marketing tool — at least in new age circles — and also, because Church of Sky has a calm, tranquil, peaceful outlook. Much of that peacefulness and tranquillity comes from Shantala's Heather Wertheimer, who handles all of the lead vocals, plays acoustic guitar, and does most of the songwriting; husband Benjy Wertheimer (Shantala's other half) assists with the writing and plays various instruments. Heather is not a forceful or aggressive sort of vocalist — far from it, in fact. She favors a light, unassuming, sweetly girlish approach that works well on pastoral offerings like "Between the Lines" and "Etched in Stone." Heather's performances aren't exceptional or outstanding, but they're charming and pleasantly likable — and while Church of Sky isn't a five-star masterpiece, it's a decent, noteworthy effort that is worth hearing if one likes his/her folk-pop on the gentle side.