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Joy Whitlock

God and a Girl | 4 stars out of 5

Christian rock presents a lot of artists who simply appear to be part of "mirror culture," a Christian Avril Lavigne, Christian Maroon 5 or whatever the flavor-of-the-moment-a-few-moments-ago is. Joy Whitlock is an artist with something to say, as opposed to something to be.

According to her press biography, Whitlock is a fairly new Christian, a preacher's daughter who went through something of a dark journey before embracing her faith. And one of the first artists to embrace her was Todd Agnew, whose taste for songs of faith that still ask questions is reflected in Whitlock's full-length debut album, God and a Girl.

There are some moments on the album that soar into full radio-friendly production, such as Holding on to Me. But a lot of the disc tracks much closer to the opener, The Cost of Being Free, a bluesy tune with guitars buzzing and twanging straight through the amps while Whitlock sings with the graveliest alto we've heard in Christian rock since Jennifer Knapp. Many of the songs seem to have autobiographical roots, songs about shedding a sketchy past for a life of faith that can sometimes be hard to navigate and stick with. Testify is a particularly striking, plainspoken testimony that really comes in the form of the singer confessing and asking God to testify for her.

The primary fault in the disc is length. At 14 tunes and a little over an hour in playing time, it drags a bit. Trimming out a few cuts might have given Whitlock a more succinct and consistent first impression. But then we hear so few voices like Whitlock's, it seems a tad silly to complain about too much of her. She comes onto the scene as an authentic voice, and you want to wish her success — and wish that success won't spoil her.

RICH COPLEY, rcopley@herald-leader.com