Regina Vandereijk
Love Called Her Home (EP)
(Royal Increase Music; release date: September 20, 2024)

By Robert M. Marovich

Sometimes you come across a singer of significant sensitivity and sometimes you come across a skillful songwriter, but rarely do you come across someone who combines both. Regina Vandereijk has both.

Regina’s style of sacred music, grounded in the acoustic singer-songwriter tradition, is on full display on her four-track EP Love Called Her Home. To her folk style she adds doses of blues, gospel, and country. The result is a mix of the Christian balladry of Lauren Daigle and the earthiness of veteran folk singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer.

The title track is just as strong melodically and even more powerful lyrically as “Oh Jesus (The Glory of the King),” a recent JGM Pick of the Week. With country crossover appeal, “Love Called Her Home” is about the transformative experience of salvation. “Mighty Waters (Midnight Moon)” has the distinct echo of a hundred folksongs. Regina’s opening shouts of “freedom” and the swampy guitar and organ on “Victory” lend the selection a Rhiannon Giddens feel.

Although she now lives in the Netherlands, Regina Vandereijk gets her rootsy groove from her North Carolina birthplace. I hope she releases a full-length album in the near future. She’s an impressive talent that deserves greater attention.

Five of Five Stars

Picks: “Oh Jesus,” “Love Called Her Home”