It's "Cutting Edge" with an emphasis on the "Edge"
Written: Dec 07 '00 (Updated Jun 30 '03)
Product Rating:
Pros: Intimate, worshipful songs with an exciting modern rock sound; nice transitions between songs.
Cons: Some songs are long and repetitive; lyrics can be simplistic at times.
The Bottom Line: A great combination of the band's past influences - the lyrical style of Cutting Edge matched with the musical muscle of King of Fools and Mezzamorphis.
Worshipers young and old, gather around and herald the return of one of the bands responsible for giving modern worship a shot in the arm. Well, it's not so much the return of Delirious? (the question mark is part of their name - that's key) as it is the rebirth of Delirious? Back in the days before hot radio singles like "Deeper" and "Gravity", these guys were simply an honest, down-to-earth praise band who wanted to push the boundaries of the music being played in their home churches without sacrificing the unmistakable yearning and devotion for God found in the simple praise choruses that are typically heard every Sunday. They were surprised how quickly it caught on. Then known as Cutting Edge, the band came up with such modern classics as "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" and "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?", not to mention the notoriously infectious "Happy Song". Then they took an interesting left turn from straight worship into worship-infused modern rock, with more than a hint of U2 influence, changing their name to "Delirious?" along the way. While this upped the ante musically and made way for their huge success on American shores, some fans were a little disappointed that the lyrics in some of their new songs were a little more difficult to unravel than those of your typical praise anthem. Well, Cutting Edge fans, this album is for you.
Now, having said that, you should know that I wasn't a huge fan of the Cutting Edge collection. Don't get me wrong - it's worth owning for a number of classic songs, but parts of that album were a bit long and dull for me to handle all at once. I enjoyed the King of Fools album, but their more electronic and edgy modern rock experiment known as Mezzamorphis is probably what made them one of the top bands on my list. Fans of those days will likely not be disappointed here - at least, if they liked the music. While it has a definite worship focus, Glo rocks with an energy only hinted at on their previous albums. I didn't think they had it in them. But once I heard the majority of these tracks via the Internet, I knew I couldn't wait for it to release in the States - I ordered it from overseas immediately.
God You Are My God will tip you off immediately that you are dealing with a revitalized worship band. It sneaks in gently with some real monks chanting, which reminds me of "Liquid" from Jars of Clay's first album, and the driving rhythm that kicks in helps to reinforce that reminder. However, it's not a Jars of Clay ripoff - the lyrics are too simple for that. It's basically a modern take on Psalm 63, and though some might find it a bit repetitive (or too similar to Rich Mullins' "Step by Step"), I prefer to think of it as being "church-ready". It's a lovely marriage of modern and ancient worship sounds, and the electronic female voice that weaves in and out of this song sums it up perfectly - "A soundtrack for life."
After a brief rest that appears to be the end of the song, the band strikes back with a high-energy encore entitled Glo in the Dark (Part 1), reprising the chorus and overlaying the words "We're going to the house of God, are you coming?" As on many of the songs, a choir is giving Martin Smith a good share of vocal help - this really helps to give the album a corporate worship feel, and yet it doesn't drown out the musicians. Towards the end, it takes on sort of an urban gospel feel, yet it still rocks, and you still have the monks as the song trails off - what an incredible tapestry of sounds!
God's Romance slices in with a great riff courtesy of Stuart Garrard (affectionately known as "Stu G"), and an enthusiastic count-off from Martin Smith as the song gets underway. At first, the verses to this song sounded a little cliche, but the song rocks, so it didn't bug me. Then I thought about what a great title this song had, and realized that sometimes it was okay for a song to "cheerlead". We've all heard it said that God loves us, but when you put it in terms of God having a romantic encounter with us, you really have to stop and appreciate that sentiment. The band seems to have the goal of sweeping you away with their frenzied river of music here, making sure you can't escape the message of God's love. The band apparently played this song at some of their concerts before recording the album, and as a result, they were able to use the voices of random fans singing in the background to sort of recreate the feel of one of their concerts. One thing you might not realize is that this track runs over six minutes - it seems to just whiz by due to its "deliriously" happy energy.
Investigate slows things down just a little, taking on a more mystical tone as it opens with some tasty acoustic guitar chords, backed by some ominous electronic effects. This is the first taste of the "deeper" side of a Delirious? worship song - the band is not only praising God for what He has done, but calling upon Him to do more. Here Martin is calling on the wisdom of the Psalms once again, asking God to "investigate" his life and make it presentable and holy once again. He longs for the courage to not hide any of his sin, and the bittersweet tone of the music really makes this yearning believable. Now, don't be fooled into calling this a ballad - once the electric guitar joins in at the chorus, it really begins to soar. Overall, the song has a driving beat, but I wouldn't say it's at all "hard", just intense in all the right ways. (Think back to "Obsession" from Cutting Edge, and you're on the right track.)
Once again, this song is followed by a spontaneous track, Glo in the Dark (Part 2), that brings the emotion of the song up even one more notch (if that's possible) as Martin repeatedly croons "Fly away". The song finally fizzles out and abruptly ends with its opening line - "Investigate my life and make me clean".
What Would I Have Done? is a bit of a departure from the rockier sounds of most of the album - just Martin, an acoustic guitar, and some strings and synths swirling in the background. It seems more autobiographical and less intended for the general crowd to sing along with - more of a personal testimony, if you will, but definitely worshipful at the core. Martin ponders some of the low points in his life, though rather vaguely - "What do you do with a heavy soul/when you can dance but there's no rock and roll?" is a particularly intriguing line. Perhaps he is reflecting on some of the flak the band's taken for venturing into supposedly more "secular rock" territory, but in any case, his response to the dark times is simple - "What would I have done if it wasn't for Jesus?" I don't like this song as much as the others - Martin sounds like he's struggling to stay in key, and since there's no real rhythmic backing, it kind of wanders off into the mist before making much of an impact on me. That actually works in the band's at the end of the song, though - Martin slips in part of the chorus from the next song, and suddenly, without warning... BAM!
My Glorious has arrived! Pounding drums and a mean guitar line attack from out of nowhere, signaling the beginning of another strong anthem that's begging for some Sunday morning "airplay", if you know what I mean. Though the tempo of this song doesn't feel fast enough to match the energy of the instruments at first (similar to Jennifer Knapp's mid-tempo rocker "Into You"), you really get swept up in this one when you sing along and just feel the celebration. God is painted here as a celestial war hero come to "save the day" and take us away from the cares of the world that bog us down. It can be a bit confusing that Martin changes back and forth between addressing God and addressing the congregation (many of their songs tend to have these nebulous "you"s in them), but it works well to offer praise to God and to get the people energized - and boy, are they? The choir we heard before makes a comeback as this song builds to its finish, singing and clapping and virtually running away with the song! But Stu G's guitar and Stewart Smith's drums are still there, navigating effortlessly through the maze of vocals, creating yet another 6 minute plus masterpiece of a praise song. Only one complaint about this song - "Glorious" isn't a noun. (And all will say, my glorious what?)
Everything bleeds in as "My Glorious" fades out (indeed, most of the transitions between songs on this album are virtually seamless, as if a flaming torch is being passed from one track to another). This is a poppy, danceable number with a lighter rhythm section to it, its atmospheric opening line of "It's a beautiful day" evoking a feeling similar to that of the song "Beautiful Day" by U2 (but this album came out before that one, so it's all good). This wasn't one of my favorites at first - perhaps I was just perplexed at why this was chosen for the radio single (duh, because it's one of the few tracks that's under five minutes) - but in any case, it's become one my favorites now. It seems simple at first - God is the source of everything good, but Martin does a good job of tying together his theme of running the race which was first seen in "God's Romance". He mentions a "witness cloud" surrounding us as we run toward God, which is a definite Biblical reference, and the song does a great job of inspiring the listener, especially at the end, where the guitars get a little buzzier and the choir joins in once again after a prompting from Martin (normally I don't go for the worship leader prompting thing, but I have to admit it's fun on this album), creating an all-too-short jam session that fizzles out in a sudden bit of feedback.
Hang on to You was the song that caught my interest just from reading the cover - Martin Smith had written this song, but Luna Halo, whom they hooked up with through their record label, recorded it first on their album Shimmer. Well, you may have to briefly put that version out of your mind - it's a fine, sweetly performed rock ballad, but this version is different altogether - more of a jerky rocker that jumps from quiet to loud and back again several times. The verses are almost completely acoustic, and the chorus is powerful and electrifying (not unlike some of the harder tunes on Luna Halo's album, ironically enough). There's a great story behind the lyrics - the meaning may be obvious (once again, a theme of hanging onto God in dark times), but the inspiration behind it is awesome - Martin came up with this one while watching his daughter (then one day old) reach out to grab her father's hand, and he initially wrote it as a song from her point of view. Perhaps some fans on the Luna Halo version would have preferred it remain a ballad - it might pull more heartstrings that way. But this version rocks! It's really an apple-and-orange situation; I can't tell you which version I like better, but Delirious? wrote it, so they can do with it what they please.
Intimate Stranger, as you might expect, is a quiet and intimate song. Another one of the longer tracks on this album, it clocks in at seven and a half minutes. The keyboard work is nice on this song - Tim Jupp adds some atmospheric chords here and there at just the right time, giving the song a spacey, dreamy mood. The drumming is soft, remaining mostly in the background, keeping the focus on Martin's lyrics, which are simple and yet very compelling, portraying Jesus as a stranger that he longs to know more deeply. A few angelic background vocals are noticeable here and there as the song simmers, but unfortunately never completely boils. It's one of those tracks that works well as a soundtrack to personal quiet time, but loses a little of its luster if you're listening too intently. Perhaps I'm too hooked on the more "aggressive" sounds of many of the other songs, or perhaps the tempo just dropped too suddenly after "Hang on to You". But it's not a bad song at all - I've seen a few reviewers rate it as their favorite.
Awaken the Dawn reminds us that not all of the great Delirious? praise songs come from the pen of Martin Smith. Stu G wrote this one a few years back, and it's already been incorporates into some local church services around the boys' hometowns in England. The lyrics and the tune kind of tip you off to this, sounding very much like something you'd swear you've sung in church before, except for maybe that one intriguing line - "We sing the songs that awaken the dawn." What an interesting concept - praises so pronounced and passionate that they drive all darkness away. It very much would have belonged on the Cutting Edge album right alongside songs like "Shout to the North" or "Thank You for Saving Me", except for one thing - that relentlessly loud guitar line that backs up the chorus. Indeed, it hits you out of nowhere, since the song starts up before "Intimate Stranger" has a chance to fade out. Yet, it doesn't detract from the praise anthem quality of the song, and its 3/4 rhythm is a nice change in pace from the usual 4/4 that dominates most of their songs. Listen carefully - there are bagpipes buried underneath those pesky guitars.
As the song segues into Glo in the Dark (Part 3), the bagpipes take more of a prominent role, and the guitar is scaled back, simply guiding the chord structure of the song during this "spontaneous" section. But wait - they're not done jamming on this song yet. A simple call from Martin ("Here we go, boys!"), and then everybody dives back in for a few last rounds, with Martin content to throw in some passionate "la la"s and other meaningless syllables, reminding us that worship doesn't always take the form of words. Then all fades away and the bagpipes get a lively little solo in before they too fade out.
The Years Go By is a song of memories, thanking God for good times gone by, musing on the band's dreams that are seemingly coming true. They wanted to give modern worship a fresh voice, and God used them to do it. It's a midtempo, almost nostalgic tune that most bands would bring out for a "best of" album (like PfR's "Fare Thee Well", except Delirious? isn't breaking up in the foreseeable future). Again, it's more personal reflection than corporate worship, but thinking about what this band has been through in the past years and some of the great songs that God has inspired them with gives definite cause for worship. That's what Delirious? is about; that's what they want the focus to be - worship, not stardom.
Jesus' Blood is included here, mostly for their UK-based fans, since it wasn't included on the British version of Mezzamorphis. Here it is slightly remixed with some strings added underneath. I still don't think it's one of their strongest songs, but they seem to enjoy redoing at least one song on each new album (including "Deeper '99" on Mezzamorphis and "Louder than the Radio" on King of Fools), and they've mostly improved upon it here. It still has a lot of little electronic noises driving it along, but remains a mellow, meditative song that works well at the end of the album, focusing on the incomprehensible sacrifice that Jesus made to set humanity free, and how Martin feels that this is a secret he just cannot keep quiet about. The choir gets one last chance to shine in the soaring bridge (they don't sound as out of place as they did on the Mezzamorphis version because their voices aren't given spooky synthesized effects this time out), and Martin gets in a few last lines that once again reprise themes from past songs ("Take me to the place where eagles fly", "Heaven is my home", etc.), and then the elements fall away one by one.
This leads into the last track, Glo in the Dark (Part 4), which is a somber outro featuring the strings and not much else. That's right, other than an occasional wandering piano, you hear very little of the actual band members on this track. It's abstract, taking the tune and rhythm of "Jesus' Blood" and slowly deconstructing it into a haunting, free-form instrumental that finishes up the album on an odd, but memorable note. (It actually kind of reminds me of the extremely long hidden track on Jars of Clay's first album, which strangely brings my comparisons full circle!)
Overall, parts of this album may take some time to digest, but if modern worship is your thing, and you're looking for music that can be direct in its praise to God but still rock, you're in the right place. It's similar to the album SonicFlood put out last year, expect that Delirious? writes all of their own songs, and this one's got a little more edge and artistic consistency, in my opinion. It's more than music, in the opinion of the band - it's a soundtrack for life.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Investigate, My Glorious, Everything, God's Romance, Awaken the Dawn, God You Are My God, Hang on to You
Good: Intimate Stranger, The Years Go By, Jesus' Blood
Decent: What Would I Have Done?
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Band Members:
Martin Smith: Lead Vocals, guitars, additional keyboards
Stuart Garrard: Electric/acoustic guitars, backing vocals, programming
Tim Jupp: Keyboards, programming
Jon Thatcher: Electric/synth bass
Stewart Smith: Drums, samples, percussion, backing vocals
Great Music to Play While: Desperately needing to liven up a church service
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