Contemporary Christian pop/rock female trio ACTS, composed of Sahagun sisters Kathrine Ann, Christian, and Teemy, has released its album, Speak Love, and I’m reviewing and recommending You Are Loved to Christian AC. Listening to this Filipino trio for the first time, I’m struck by the sweetness of their harmonies, and I’m excited for the quality of their vocals when they sing together. It reminds me of all the summery harmonies I used to listen to back in the day – Wilson Phillips, Mulberry Lane, Dixie Chicks… it’s that kind of airtight harmony that I love to sing along with, and it’s that kind of sound that I wish were more prevalent in the cookie-cutter, auto-tuned blandness of Christian AC and Christian Soft AC/Inspo today. Asians are also woefully underrepresented in the Nashville-centric world of Christian AC and Christian Soft AC/Inspo, so it would be wonderful if radio programmers opened themselves – and the airwaves – up to You Are Loved.
You Are Loved is well-produced and well-executed. The tinkling piano lines and dependable guitar lines make for a solid foundation for the sisters’ breezy three-part vocals. Individually, their voices are lovely, but their strength lies in those lovely harmonies. ACTS has been singing together for quite some time, and even made it into the top 20 finalists for X Factor‘s Las Vegas edition, so it’s not just I who think there’s a lot of potential in this Filipina girl group. That they sing such delicious harmonies is really just the cherry on the sundae; they want to share with their world the redemptive power of Christ, so I’m excited for the possibilities.