'Not so Average' starts things off. It features nice string arrangements and speaks out against media pressures for teen girls to look a certain way: "Models aren't really models when they're not modeling/Why don't you tell me something/Cuz what I'm really wondering/Is how long do you expect to be following/Tryna be a star like them?/It's not the way you're going to win/Stop tryin' to fit in" and "The only way to shine like a star/Is to realize whose you are/You were created to go far/It really doesn't matter what you look like/If you have Jesus on the inside/He's everything that you need in your life." 'Christian Girl' sounds like Gwen Stefani gone Christian: "I'm a Christian girl/Not of the world/Jesus is my banner/And I show it on the camera/Make Him popular (popular)/I give Him the publicity (publicity)/Telling all of my friends/I'm born again/Be done with the sin/Let me show you how to win." 'Battery' is all about being available to God for His purposes. It has a party sound to it and has labelmate FLAME doing some dope rapping: "I want the Lord to use me like I'm a tool/Like I'm Moses' rod/Screaming give me Jesus/Give me Jesus/Give me Jesus/Give me God." Vienna sings: "Can you feel the power/When you say the Name?/Like turning a light on/And all the darkness fades/But we don't deserve it/It's only by grace/It's only through faith/That He uses me."
'Hater' is bouncy and could be addressed to the devil or another person trying to draw her away from God: "See what happens when you're a hater/And you're jealous/You're a liar/You're so stupid/It makes you a loser/You thought that you had this girl/But God helped me escape" and ""I know you don't get it/You're jealous admit it/That He gave His life for us all/So you can keep trying/With stealing and lying/But He'll pick me up if I fall." 'Run that Way' is bass heavy and uses neat vocal distortions. The song focuses on spiritual warfare: "Let's run away from the liar/Be quick he'll use your desire/You better run when you get the chance/There's always a way of escape but you have to run that way." 'Dear Adam' is a ballad that finds God calling out to a guy who has fallen into sin and is depressed: "I'm writing you to let you know/The price that I have paid/But you could never understand the cost/Adam you can rise again/Believe the Son can shine within/Receive the crown I paid for on the cross."
'In Dependence' has Vienna delivering an earlier era Hilary Duff style vocal. It is about letting go of the tough guy act and acknowledging our need for the Lord: "There's a guy all the girls want to be with/But he don't want no one else, he's lookin' at her/Because he thinks she's independent/But he don't know every night when they hang up the phone/She's about to cry cause she feels so alone/Is she really independent?/So while she's lying to herself trying to impress him/I'll be who God wants me to be" and "I got Someone to lean on/And I don't care what you think/Because I'm going to be in His arms/And where will you be?" 'Girl, What U Lookin At?!' is hip sounding and offers spiritual freedom to a girl with a tough exterior: "You got your swagg huh/You think you're bad huh/But no one knows deep down inside you're really sad huh/That's why you're wild huh/And never smile huh/Somehow you lost your joy when you were just a child huh/But I'm just sayin' though/Don't be ashamed though/Cuz Jesus wants to free you but you have to say so/So get your joy back/And lose the diva act." 'Let's go Home' shows a softer side of Vienna musically. It points us to where we can find our true identity and rest in it: "It's not Alice in Wonderland/It's not Dorothy in Oz/It's not Peter in Neverland/But it's called the kingdom of God/Do you know where we are?/Don't want to be lost/Back to where we started from/I believe You are the Son/No place like home."
'Love Pursuit' is a slow, smooth R & B tune featuring John Katina. It is a conversation between God and Vienna in which she struggles with feelings of being unworthy of His love: "God-That's why I gave you my life/So even though you are unworthy/You can still come to me/Vienna-No I'm too ashamed of me/God-But My love can cover all/Vienna-But how could You still love me/After all that I've done to You?/God-That's why I sent My Son for you/Vienna-What if my heart should stray?/God-Then I'll pursue you with love and grace." 'Forgive Me' has Adam Long on cello, and asks a very heartfelt question of another: "And after all of my failure and my sinning/Jesus still wants to save me and live in me/So if Jesus can/Then why can't you.../Forgive me?" 'Cry Holy' uses violin, viola, cello, contra bass and piano among other instruments. This closing song should cause each and every listener to pause and think about Christ's great sacrifice for us: "I close my eyes and see Him/All of His life depleted/Hanging upon a tree with nails put through His hands and feet and/I know that I'm the reason/Because of my constant treason/It was my own complete sin/That caused Him this awful treatment/But one day I'm going to meet Him/I'll fall on my face when I see Him/Thank Him for all that He did/And I'll be free then" and "When I do see Jesus/I will cry a million tears/I'll join the angels singing what they have sung a million years/They'll be singing Holy/Holy (9X)."
I'm recommending this Christian pop album to females aged 12 to 25, though others such as myself may enjoy it as well. V. Rose seems to be strongly grounded in her faith in Christ making her a great role model for young ladies the world over. The photographs of her included with this project were taken by Gerry 'GOS' Simpson and show Vienna, who is in her early 20's, to be fashionable, cute, and beautiful. I'm rating V. ROSE 87%. For more info on her and her work visit http://www.clearsightmusic.com/ or check her out on Facebook. Note that V. Rose will be part of AIR RAID 20 in Barrie Saturday Februrary 25th, 2012, along with House of Heroes, Manic Drive and Behold! The City (airraid.ca).