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Glo

GLO (CD)
By Delirious?
Furious? Records. £14.99

After meeting in a church youth group, Delirious? went on to record two of the most influential Christian albums of the last decade.

Their uniqueness was in the way they wrote worship songs with the kind of music that you might hear on the radio. With their blend of thought-provoking lyrics and powerful live sets, Delirious? changed the way many young people viewed worship music. Their next step was to take their music and message to the masses. Two albums and a handful of singles received critical acclaim in the secular marketplace. Glo signifies a return to Delirious' roots-a collection of songs 'that people can sing in church', according to guitarist Stuart Garrard. So have the D: boys been successful in creating a 'worship' album again?

Fans will note similarities to the earlier 'Live and In The Can' release; the extended improvised instrumentals were for many years a regular feature of Delirious? gigs. For me the album catches something of the spontaneity and power of the 'old' Delirious? live but incorporates much of the musical maturity shown in their later recordings.

The Delirious? sound is hard to capture by comparison to anyone else. There are elements of the raw emotion of the Manic Street Preachers, something of the hooky melodies of Oasis and the extended instrumentals of Pink Floyd-all in all, pretty unique! The music is nothing if not emotional; moving effortlessly from solo acoustic guitar to the spine-tingling end of 'My Glorious' where the audience spontaneously begin to cheer and sing along with the screaming guitars: 'God will save the day and all will say / My Glorious!'

I'd love to be 100% positive about this album, but I do have one reservation. For me an effective 'worship' album has to feed my mind, inspire me to worship the Lord. There was nothing 'unsound' in this album, but I just felt that there was too little to keep me focused on those truths that cause us to worship.

As a straightforward Christian rock album, this is great-it's different; it's vibrant, emotional and showcases the considerable musical talent God has blessed these guys with. The bottom line though is that as a 'worship' album Glo appeals more to the heart than the head and as such left this listener ultimately slightly unsatisfied.

Jon Mason