Joy Whitlock

God and a Girl
Ardent Records

Joy Whitlock recipe: Pour a lot of molasses on the radio-pop style of Pink, Avril Lavigne, etc. Add one jagged little pill, a few tattoos and spiky blonde hair. Stir with a sprig of Sheryl Crow twang for 14 songs. Bake. Enjoy.

“God and a Girl” is a solid debut. And it’s long — just over an hour. Whitlock, a rebellious pastor’s kid from Mississippi, was saved in 2004 as the credits rolled on Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” She gave God her heart and then her voice, and Christian music sounds all that much better. If you like Jennifer Knapp, Sarah Masen and Kendall Payne, then you’ll love Whitlock.