The Kiss - Trin-I-Tee 5:7

Destiny's Child pays lip service to God on occasional tracks, but Adrian Anderson, Angel Taylor, and Chanelle Hayes are gospel's answer to that group and are more the real deal. They combine the same picture-perfect harmonies, with thumping soul grooves by a sea of top producers, but are focused on the Lord 24/7. Not that they're beyond wanting to be as commercial as possible -- the opening track is a remix of the final song, "Holla," featuring a slightly thicker groove and a rap interlude. There is certainly a fair amount of straightforward praise songs, including the seductive and danceworthy old-school soul-vibing "Dance Like Sunday." But what sets Trin-I-Tee 5:7 apart is the interesting lyrical approaches, which tackle themes beyond the usual repetitive worship lines listeners have all heard. The ballad "Lord" tackles the issues of people using God for bad purposes and people with the best intentions going astray. A title like "With a Kiss" would mean late-night seduction for Destiny's Child, but here is an acoustic guitar-driven reading of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, and the Betrayal. The mid-tempo advice-oriented tune "What He Wants" addresses the difficulties of romantic temptation and urges listeners to follow God rather than worry about pleasing people. There's also a gentle anthemic reading of "People Get Ready," an important song that deserves a new generation of listeners. Often, spoken word interludes seem pretentious, but here they show the happy spirit of the girls making the music. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide