Gina French has one of those voices that can sing just about anything and have you listening intently. On her second album she has a bluesy sound and some fabulous songs. "Break the Silence" revolves round a strong guitar line and French singing of breaking free from constraints. The title track was apparently inspired by the film "The English Patient" and it speaks compellingly of consuming passion. "You have awakened this world inside me one universe, with no boundaries I will give you full surrender" she sings. The music sounds Middle eastern, no doubt thanks to the use of a dumbek. The splendid "Something About The Night" rocks out, sounding like a subtler Bonnie Raitt. French's volcanic voice is in fine fettle as she sings of coming to life at night. "Unleash" continues the theme from the title track, but perhaps a little less ecstatically. We end with a bonus track, which turns out to be an early version of the title song. This is a powerful record all round and one that would sell plenty in a fair world AnnaMariaStjärnell, Collectedsounds.com January 08, 2005

One of the things that makes this part of this album interesting is the apparent influences, which are slightly less obvious than your average female singer-songwriter. The main one is All About Eve and more specifically Julianne Regan's hippyish ethereal voice. This influence comes to the fore on the title track and also on 'Rings True'. The best thing is the track that kicks off the album, 'Hard Way', a slice of kooky Kristin Hersh style acoustic pop, though the stripped bare soul of 'Spring's Angel' runs it close. - Russell Barker - Russ's Reviews, UK

I was a goner the second I heard Gina French's voice. Imagine Shirley Manson had a little sister with the same sneer and the same wild spirit, but with an exotic sense of romance and sensual abandonment normally found in gothic novels. French lets her heart roam wherever it wants, unapologetically throwing in a surprising bit of twang in "Spring's Angel" and a duet with her voice and an electric guitar in "Spanish Lace." From beginning to end, this album is a rising tide of mystic energy that narrowly skirts New Age territory and goes right for the gritty rock and roll vibe.
Jennifer Layton, Indie-Music.com October 09, 2004

Listening to the new Gina French album is like discovering a corsage pressed in the cover of a favorite book. Of Rapture is at once more fully imagined and no less evocative than Sacred Ground, Ms. French’s auspicious 1997 debut. In both albums, Ms. French’s voice cuts like an angelic instrument wielded by a True Believer against the incredulous, two parts Michael and one part Mephistopheles. Shaken, possibly and certainly stirring. // Ms. French’s gift is to turn a phrase that begins with the worshipful frequencies of a church choir fully up on its end, into a low libidinal growl. The title song “Of Rapture” captures this Bedouin ambiguity beautifully. Like the wanderlust of Ibn Fattouma, the wonderfully imagined hero of Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz--a traveler and a seeker--the song is both exotic and sweeping in make up, evoking a romantic and unknown (non-existent?) land while also embracing the operatic structure of the recent songs of Ian Anderson’s seventies prog-rock band Jethro Tull. - Jeff Von Ward

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: French has the pipes and the passion to kick butt on any pop diva soulfully warbling out there today. She has great power, range and understanding of dynamics. She is capable of both great strength and tenderness in her singing style. She also has a great band backing her up. The players assembled here are tight and loose at the same time, all in the right way. They know these songs but they feel them too. They each compliment the songs and give them punch without ever overpowering the melody and song itself. They are a strong undercurrent throughout the CD. And that brings me to the songs. Many of the songs like “Hard Way” and the exotic and swirling title track “Of Rapture” seem to growl and smolder out of your speakers. Then some like “Spring’s Angel” are truly gently sweet and moving. OK that’s three things. French has tremendous pipes, a fabulous band and a rapturous collection of songs on “Rapture”. Got it? This is a powerful and highly enjoyable CD from start to finish. - Stacey Board - Muse's Muse

Gina French = Emmylou Harris + Robert Johnson + Dead Can Dance
Gina French has more soul than Al Green french-kissing Tina Turner. She is the only folk artist I know that takes the sexiest parts of the blues, rock and alt-country and mixes it with Middle Eastern scale progressions. She then lathers everything over with hedonistic amounts of Bill Frost slide guitar, growly, yowly vocals that wail and zing like the whine of cupid’s deadly arrows, transcendent chord changes and heart-of-darkness acoustic strumming. Zithery Indian sounds color up "Of Rapture" and "Rings True," and old-time country flavors give "Spring’s Angel" a nostalgically bittersweet edge. - Rebecca Vernon - Slug Magazine

Sept - 2004 Article - Catalyst Magazine
Catalyst Magazine 2004

Songstress Gina French’s second album in seven—count ’em, seven—years features a full backing band, a palpable rock edge and sleek production by Tom Cram (ex of Honest Engine) but still comes across as charming as her solo acoustic debut, Sacred Ground. French’s voice remains a bewitchingly expressive asset and, in the hands of her band, the candid, well-smithed songs simply leap to life. Rapture? Yer darn tootin.
    – Randy Harward, Salt Lake City Weekly

With Of Rapture, Gina French sheds her introspective acoustic persona for that of a growling, howling rocker. The intense, reflective lyrics that highlighted her 1997 debut, Sacred Ground, remain, but this time she has framed them with electric guitars, exotic woodwinds and a percussive back beat. The album, which took four years to complete, flows from song to song, held together by French's personality. Her core group of musicians include guitarist Bill Frost (some of his most tasteful work) and a rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Lance Lee and drummer Adam Sorensen. Even though the album was created in a piecemeal fashion, it remains delightfully full-blooded.
     – Martin Renzhofer, Salt Lake Tribune

French has a gorgeous voice that's rich with sensuality, and posesses an even better ear for dark melodies.
     – Salt Lake City Weekly

Not only does Gina French write exceptional songs of great depth and beauty, she has the ability to perform them in an utterly disarming manner.
     – Catalyst Magazine