Young rock n’ rollers rollicking in the basement isn’t just an age thing. It’s actually, um, Biblical. As in the Good Book. Ever noticed King David pontificating in the Psalms on the matter of volume?
On April 1st, CCM uber-band Delirious? released their seventh full-length studio album – Kingdom of Comfort – and the volume is cranked. Really earsplitting. Like really – and Biblically – rowdy. And amidst the newfound edge, Delirious? is still at their paramount when they don’t drift too far from the pop format – though Kingdom is not as brawny as their prior effort, The Mission Bell – and only a delicate deviation from its most recent entries in their discography.
The album instigates with the its namesake, “Kingdom of Comfort.” The retro acoustic stylings and loop, marrying Kansas and Radiohead, lull us into their compassion for justice and the trappings of materialism. The chorus is taut with swirling guitars and pads and the outro – in your face.
“God is Smiling” uncovers Delirious? channeling their inner but edgier Keane through the lens of John 15:5 – apart from Him, we can do nothing. “So who is my neighbor, where’s the love/That speaks for those our world has lost?/It’s every heart now, every soul.”
The missteps are found in “Give It What You’ve Got.” Though it starts with a Flaming Lips-tinged intro, the chorus disappointingly smacks of vintage Michael W. Smith. Even more substandard was “Stare the Monster Down” with tiresome hooks from Stu Garrard.
“Love Will Find a Way” reveals a beguiling chorus that harkens back to a heavier Yes and gets us back to the heart of things: love covers a multitude of everything.
Worship songs ready-made for Sunday morning, like “We Give You Praise,” “How Sweet the Name,” and “All God’s Children,” go from good to average with “We Give You Praise” standing above the rest with its lilting minor chords in chorus, echoing that a life lived worshipping bonds the bitter and the sweet.
“Every Soul Needs a Savior” pulsates with a bridge that would make even Thom Yorke proud. The love song, “Wonder,” finds Delirious? showing their hand of what the future may hold. It speaks with a very innovative and vociferous chorus, unlike anything I’ve heard them do.
Kingdom concludes with the rock-solid “My Soul Sings,” with its eighth note downstroke a la Coldplay. The choir affixes soul to the roll.
If you’ve followed the contemporary worship resurgence in the last 10 years or so, you know the conversation would not be complete without including this West Sussex band. Though they’ve straddled the line between the mainstream and Christian music industry – see Audio Lessonover? – they have maintained a position as one of the most relevant and important bands in Christian music history.
Their humble beginnings as a worship band for a youth outreach event called “Cutting Edge” in England has been the true catalyst and heart behind the humble longevity of their career. And this heart for worship, as well as an emerging voice for social justice, shines through on Kingdom of Comfort.
Leave a comment