By Dr. Naima Johnston

   Tammy Trent celebrated the New Year with the release of a catchy new single, “You’ve Already Shown Me”, from her latest album, Stronger. Stronger starts off with several bopping and bouncy feel good contemporary Christian tunes, but expands to explore the deeper issues of faith, love and hope in Christ. Stronger could be defined as a typical contemporary Christian offering, but that’s not a bad thing when it’s done well and in the spirit of excellence. Tammy Trent does it well, with a pure and sincere heart that radiates through her vocals. Listeners will be pleasantly surprised after playing the CD several times, the beauty of Trent’s voice and the passion behind the songs are more strongly felt with each hearing.

   My favorite songs on the album, “Letting Go” and “The Edge of The Water” are intimate and personal, the arrangements are strong and the sweet quality of the tone of her voice have led me to add both songs to the musical selections I play during my own morning devotions. The fact that Tammy Trent still sings despite her personal tragedies inspires and encourages me, and reaffirms my own faith. And ultimately isn’t that what Christian music is suppose to do? These two songs illustrate clearly the faith of a woman determined to encourage others through her gift of song.

   With songs that are easy to sing along with such as, Rain On Me, and Somehow UR, Stronger is exactly that – this is an album that expresses the growing faith, ministry and testimony of an artist completely sold out to the Lord. The songwriting sparkles with lyrics such as… “Once upon a desperate time… Love took a desperate measure.” Common themes are sung with heartfelt emotion, sincerity, and on the more upbeat tunes, lots of fun and a little bit of sassiness.

   You won’t be disappointed if you add Tammy Trent’s Stronger to your collection.