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As Fruit, this band recorded two independent EPs and then disappeared off the Christian music scene in the UK in pursuit of the mainstream deal, inspired by the crossover of bands like The Dum Dums and maybe even the hit singles of Delirious?. And then there was silence… their bio isn't giving away any of the secrets of what might have happened in their pursuit of chart success. Though there was a time when they asked one of the Christian radio stations where I worked to take the band off the playlist. Hmmm…

One good thing is that the band changed their name from Fruit to Sabio because, rumor has it, the name Fruit had some unsavory connotations for our North American cousins. Whatever the truth there, Sabio themselves comprise singer/guitarist Aaron Frith, lead guitarist Tom Mills, bassist Mogs and drummer Adam Mills. The band is based in Revelation Church in Chichester, a happening British church if ever there was one! 

For me, the band has always been at their best when they made music that would move me at gut level and there are plenty of songs on this CD that do that. The focus of the album seems to be a desire to dive into the depths of God's will for the band. The opening couple of songs stress this with the opener "Meaning of My Life" immediately capturing the attention with its vertical lyrics and reference to Jeremiah 29. There's also the solid insistent groove of "Dreamers of the Day" with its similarly upbeat message balancing the reality of the present with the belief that God gives the dreams and visions that drive us to persevere. 

Thinking about the band's history, I can't help wondering whether the worshipful content of the album is simply the band rediscovering their core which is making incredible adventurous music that stands up in a club or church and is uncompromisingly focused on creating God's music that hits people's hearts. That's what seems to be happening with the heart of these eight songs. 

The title cut "Escape" is held in place by a simple loop and plenty of atmospheric sounds. Singer Aaron Frith faces the struggles of faith full on before confessing that the real escape isn't a journey into the world but rather escaping deeper into the salvation and grace that God brings.  Ultimately, it's a gorgeous prayerful slab of vibe and there's a beautiful moment when Aaron sings "You are my escape…You Are my escape" in falsetto and the whole band kicks in turning the phrase into a declaration and a song of doubt is transformed into worship. 

"Control" is an acoustic prayer of surrender where everything overwhelms and if you ever needed to be reminded that ultimately God is in control of it all, this is it. The gentle acoustic setting gives the whole song an exquisite vulnerable vibe which slowly grows in intensity as the song progresses. 

After a couple of introspective songs, the band kick into life with the funkiest riff on the album that introduces Money Makers. This muscular groovy rock song is as aggressive and in your face as anything on the album seeking to shake the listener from the hypnotic apathy that envelopes us. At one point Frith sings a chant which seems to sum up so much of western culture and the treadmill that so many people step onto and never escape. "We work to get the money to get the food to get the strength to go to work to get the money to fit into this game" Driven by greed and needing deliverance, here's a wake up call for those who have been corrupted by the materialism that seeks to soften the impact of the church.

Locked into an industrial groove, "Mother" continues the theme as the band explore further contemporary issues.The first verse looks at the pop icons of our age and the need for God to raise up those like Luther King and Mandela with an ability to communicate something that would feed the soul and really tackle the bigger issues. In the second verse, the culprits of fashion, materialism, comfortable excess have all become idols that we worship without noticing. Sabio asks the question, "Is there a generation that will smash it to the floor in these days?" The soul longs to return to the comfort of a mother, gathered by God into true security not the vacuous pursuit of the world's baubles that never satisfy.

Suddenly Sabio have managed to combine vertical lyrics that hit the gut and draw the listener closer to God with a radical call for action to wake the sleeper and expect that faith has to have lifestyle consequences and worship isn't simply the singing of cool songs.

"Frozen" is a mid tempo confessional as Aaron Firth struggles with the pursuit of his dream of mainstream success and the collapse of that dream. It's the sound of a man picking up the pieces and handing them to God, hoping to make it through and pursuing God no matter how difficult it seems. There are questions and there are decisions but any bitterness is overwhelmed by hope and the recognition that there is nowhere else to go. This all leads nicely to the final song which acts as part two to all of the thoughts of "Frozen" and rounds off the whole album. 

"Carry Me" is gentle acoustic worship with a lyric deeply influenced by the Footprints poem. In the most difficult places God carries us and the band's reminder is timely. The anthemic chorus "You've carried me, you've always carried me" is a heart lifter. The song builds to a suitable closing climax and then sadly, it's all over. Until next time that is!

Musically, the band have developed a rock sound with plenty of melody and enough edgy energy to keep things interesting. Perhaps power-pop would be a good description. If you really need to pigeon hole them then comparisons to Delirious? at times wouldn't be out of place with this album although Sabio will definitely not thank me for pointing this out to you.

The CD is only available from www.sabio.uk.com 

Mike Rimmer 6/2/2002