Reviews

Source: Delirious.org.uk
Author: Dave Wood
Date: 28 Jul 2000

Monks and Bagpipes - Delirious? Are Back!

Want to know what your church will be singing next year? Well, you'd better buy the new Delirious? album: GLO. At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking this is another Christian rock album, but read the lyrics, listen to the songs and you'll realise this album is so much more. For d: fans of old, this album combines the style of their Mezzamorphis album with the words of Cutting Edge and includes the spontaneous sections of Live & In The Can. There are 4, so called "Glo in the dark" spontaneous parts, which are really an extension of the track they follow, providing a glimse of normally unheard gems that occur during an album's recording.

God You Are My God starts the album with its choir of Monks singing. A unique sound at the best of times, but when mixed into a big guitar sound like here the result is quite unbelievable! The second track, God's Romance could have been written for specifically for the church, the endlessly singable chorus and clever versus will make this a favourite with old and young. Next up is the lyrically brilliant Investigate, based around Psalm 139 ("Investigate my life o God") with a fantastic melody just oozing emotion.

What Would I Have Done? is an honest prayer reflecting on Martin Smith's life; "What would I have done if it wasn't for Jesus". Maybe its just me, but some of the chords sound like they were borrowed from "Make me a channel of your peace..."! My Glorious starts like a rock song, then slows down to a prayerful song of worship. The choir of 150 d:fans crowded into a West London studio to sing the chorus gives a taste of how this song will sound in churches all over the country; "We believe that God is bigger than the air we breathe..."

Originally planned for the mainstream Mezzamorphis album, Everything was instead saved back for Glo. The groovy bass and dance style beat make for an entertaining track, although it does seem to end rather abrubtly. Hang On To You, inspired by Martin's then 1-day old daughter, was given to US band Luna Halo for their "Shimmer" album but now appears as one of the strongest songs on Glo; "Nothing in this world will see me through - only you".

Intimate Stranger is the longest track on the album at 7.5 minutes. It simply says "Jesus I love You, Jesus I adore You". Moody, yet thoughtful and definitely stunning. Written back in '94, Stu G's Awaken The Dawn (based around Psalm 57) has already appeared in several songbooks. Given the Glo-touch, this is a worship song for the future; "God of creation we praise you". You have to hear the bagpipes at the end of the track to believe it! The Years Go By is almost a biography of the band "Looking back... we've had joy, we've had tears... thank you everytime you've led us through". Destined to become an anthem and a favourite amongst the fans. The album ends with a remix of Jesus Blood previously heard on the B-side of their recent hit single "Its OK". This song speaks bluntly and powerfully of the band's faith: "Jesus Blood never fails me... Hallelujah, King forever, Friend and Saviour".

Give it a couple of listens and you'll soon realise that this is a master piece - mixing everything we've loved about d: in the past with a new direction that can only make you wonder whats still to come from the Littlehampton 5.