With the current cycle of things in Gospel, there haven’t been an abundance of contemporary male groups hitting the scene lately.

That’s why Send Me from Young Men Sent is a welcome addition to anyone’s 2001 Gospel CD library, with our suggestion to file under ‘soulful’ or ‘smooth’.

The sounds delivered by this young foursome from Ohio are both, with a hefty helping of melody flow to gel things. The songwriting on all ten tracks comes from George Johnson, and is consistently melodic with an emphasis on blended vocals.

The project kicks off with “Lord’s On Your Side”, a rare uptempo spin from the group with track from the respected Eddie Howard. “Carry Me”, supported by another Howard track, slows down considerably with its lyrics about trusting Jesus in times of trouble. The remix “Carry Me On” isn’t obviously billed as such, but remix it is, with more acoustic guitar and increased shuffle on rhythms.

Other songs to zero in on are “Saved” and the title track, both of which use smoothness to craft harmony and melody into memory cuts.

Young Men Sent offer up the complete package: consistent sounds with just enough diversity between cuts to pique interest.

Send Me is simply one of those laid-back albums to play during those needed chill out modes.