Testify
Five albums into its career P.O.D. stands at a critical juncture. The youthful nation that made this band of California Christians into what it is today has grown older and its tastes have grown more refined, meaning that P.O.D. may have to follow suite.Testify's first act suggests that the band has moved in that direction--there's enough heaviness throughout to please those who've joined the P.O.D. posse within the last two years while the group's appreciation for both hip-hop and reggae--deepens. Hasidic MCMatisyahuguests on two tracks ("Roots In Stereo," "Strength Of My Life"), while "Sounds Like War" and "On The Grind" are noble attempts at attracting more diverse audiences. Although the material remains accessible throughout, both the listener and band both grow weary just after the album's halfway point; the final tracks prove largely indistinguishable from each other, even when tempos and attitudes appear to shift.Testifywill please the faithful but despite its best intentions P.O.D. may have some trouble finding new converts.--Jedd Beaudoin