Reviews

Source: CCM Magazine
Author: Brian Quincy Newcomb
Date: Oct 2000

After proclaiming with its last release, Mezzamorphis, that it was a band going places, leaving the past behind, the British quintet Delirious returns to its praise & worship origins on Glo.

With Cutting Edge, the two-disc collection that brought Delirious' early recordings of modern praise & worship songs to the States, the band spearheaded a movement that has had a profound effect on the Christian recording industry while impacting worship leaders in thousands of local settings. The band's larger-than-life instrumental atmospherics and simple words of adoration to God created an environment of reflection, celebration and spirited revival.

Glo continues in that tradition, broadening the instrumental palette yet again, allowing its growth as a modern rock/power pop band to take praise-oriented songs like "Hang on to You," "God's Romance" and "Awaken the Dawn" to new heights."God, You Are My God" opens the record with monk-like chanting, which is very nearly reprised in the album's closing song "Jesus Blood." While we've heard such chants incorporated more creatively by Enigma and Jars of Clay, Delirious, as it does throughout, incorporates these sounds in its own highly stylized and crafty manner. Delirious excels in its uncanny pop sensibility, palpable on "Hang On to You." Martin Smith's voice exudes sincerity and soulful yearning, and the songs' mix of the abstract language of praise and more personal narratives provide key connections.

Especially on the gentle ballad "What Would I Have Done?" we hear the compelling expression of humanity's crying out for God, celebrating the gift of new life in Christ.The band adds to all of this with exciting instrumental passages, lifting one's imagination and inviting listeners to participate. Whether Delirious continues in this praise fashion or returns to pop-oriented formulations, the band's always allowed God's presence and Spirit into the mix, which gives Glo its heart.