Contemporary hymnist Jadon Lavik infuses The Road Acoustic with a folksy sort of fervor. His softly impassioned vocal delivery and nice-guy charm are matched by a percussive guitar style and a plainspoken way with a lyric. But his humility doesn’t preclude him from delivering his tunes with confidence and gusto. Here he reworks tunes found on his earlier albums and gives two familiar hymns (“Wondrous Love” and “Come Thou Fount”) a spirited modern interpretation. Lavik’s instrumental fluency is consistently impressive, especially when he counterpoints his fingerpicking and slide work on “Come to Me.” His contemplative reading of “On the Outside” is filled with tasty blues shadings, while his take on “What If” jumps and snaps with jazzy highlights. Among the new compositions, “Surrender” stands out for its old-fashioned melody and yearning hope for salvation. Listening to The Road Acoustic, it’s easy to imagine Lavik holding forth at a church basement coffeehouse, running through deftly played licks while testifying about his faith. Worship music doesn’t get much more intimate than this.

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