Delirious?: The British Inversion
A look at Christian music and how Delirious? fits
by Timothy Yenter

Thirty-five years ago four lads from Liverpool forever changed American popular music. The British Invasion, led by the Beatles, made America rethink what is music, what it means to be famous, and what it means to play rock-and-roll. Two years ago, five mates from England showed American Christians what they had been missing. Delirious? made Christians rethink what it means to worship, what it means to follow God, and what it means to worship through rock-and-roll. The Christian music industry may never be the same.

Consider: Since when did Christian music become an industry?

Christian musicians, largely influenced by the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, began to claim rock and pop music as viable tools for ministry. Evangelical Christians began to accept these forms of music and support "Jesus rock" and "contemporary Christian music," often in conjunction with incorporating contemporary musical styles into their church services, developing what is now called "praise and worship." In the mid-90s, Christian music became a sought-after demographic for major record labels in the U.S. What began as--and still is--a tool for evangelism, artistry, encouragement, and entertainment has also become an industry focused on money, marketing, and maintaining a fanbase. Christian heavy metal, Christian ska, Christian CW, Christian reggae, Christian elevator music.

Consider: What makes a song a "Christian" song?

This is a distinctly American phenomenon, not experienced to this extent elsewhere in the world. So rising up from Britain is Delirious?. Not confined to Christian radio stations, Christian music awards, or a Christian music industry in the UK, they seek to be a great rock-and-roll band. They desire mainstream airplay. They want to be respected as a band. Yet they are undeniably and unabashedly God-centered and Christ-glorifying.

Is it Christian? The band members certainly are. Is it worship? They surely believe it is, and many churches have been singing their tunes during church worship services.

So what do we do with Delirious? (Maybe that is why they end their name with a question mark.)

Before we answer that question, let's take a look at their live show and their most recent album for insight.

Live Viewing Recommended

Delirious? founder and lead singer Martin Smith: "I think we'd like to be perceived as a rock-and-roll band, just like anyone else. But hopefully when people listen to the music, buy into it, they will see something of God in it. That's what we're trying to be." Listen to the music; be drawn in; see God. It happens in their recorded music, and it happens in their live performances. Delirious? has been touring the U.S. in on-and-off stretches these last few months promoting their newest album Mezzamorphis. For many of their U.S. fans, this has been an opportunity to see a Delirious? live show, short of jumping the pond to merry old England. Their fans won't be disappointed.

At times the live show is very guitar-heavy, which makes for a sharp edge that should electrify a youthful audience. "The Mezzanine Floor," which is easy to overlook on the album, is a highlight of the live show. Those hoping for slower, sway-with-your-neighbor moments will find those readily available as well. One of the beauties of the concert comes in the flow of the songs. By choosing to play "Deeper" as an encore, they left the crowd waiting anxiously throughout the concert for one last time to dance, jump, and sing. Placing "It's OK" (the album's next UK single) between "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" and "White Ribbon Day" drew out the somber presence and profoundly worshipful element that exists in each of these songs.

Most importantly, what the beautifully connected set list does is allow Martin Smith (lead vocals, guitar), Stuart Garrard (guitar, vocals), Jon Thatcher (bass), Tim Jupp (keys, programming), and Stewart Smith (drums) to demonstrate their enjoyment of each other and of performing for a live audience. Their fun-loving personalities and the emotional expressiveness of M. Smith and Garrard result in great showmanship and a strong audience connection. It is obvious when watching them perform that they enjoy each other and the music they are playing. Delirious? in concert is fun to watch, but you'll enjoy the concert even more if you reciprocate their enthusiasm with a few body movements and vocalizations of your own.

A quick scan of the audience will reveal that people at Delirious? concerts fall into four rough categories:

Those looking for a praise-and-worship sing-a-long. They own Cutting Edge but have been disappointed with the direction that Delirious? began taking with King of Fools and continued with Mezzamorphis.
Giveaway: standing on the fringes of the audience mass, they become very vocal during "Did You Hear the Mountains Tremble" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," but look unsettled through the rest of the show.

Young adults who have come to know Delirious? through singing their Cutting Edge songs at church services and don't want to give up the concert-going ways of their youth.
Giveaway: standing close enough to see but with plenty of personal space; holding small children.

Teens and college students who love Delirious?, particularly King of Fools, and have come to the concert to worship, sing, and have a blast.
Giveaway: pushing toward the front of the stage; extra-auricle body piercings.

The parents of the Delirious? fans who were deemed not old enough to attend a concert on their own.
Giveaway: sitting; wearing binoculars.

The third category of people will probably come away most satisfied, given the Mezzamorphis Tour's emphasis on the album of the same name, mixed with a healthy dose of older songs. The others may be confused by what seem to be the mixed messages coming from a band that is a little bit worship, and a little bit rock-and-roll.

Mezzamorphis: The Veneer Has Changed, but the Spirit Is the Same

"I think it's quite confusing for the people who are buying the records," explains Stuart Garrard. "Because one minute we're one thing, the next minute we seem to be another thing. It's quite hard for the church to grab hold of that sometimes, but we're talking about it and explaining it."

The Mezzamorphis album is not a departure from Delirious?'s past work. It is a continuation, a new turn on the same road. Jon Thatcher explains, "Our journey started more as a worship band. Now I think we're kind of mainstream. That has obviously changed. The veneer has changed. The style has changed over six or seven years as we've advanced as people, as individuals and as a band. So now we still want to be known as carrying that worship element, and the spirit of what we do is the same. But musically, stylistically, it is obviously different." In speaking about the development of Delirious?, one must remember that although released in a little over 24 months in the US, Cutting Edge, King of Fools, and Mezzamorphis came from different eras in the seven-year history of the band. Each album has a worship element to it; one could argue each stands as a worship album in its own right. The sounds are different, but the worship reformers who made each album are the same, and the God who is glorified in each album is the same.

Mezzamorphis is the best album Delirious? has made to date. It worships through lyrics that are insightful, prophetic, encouraging, and honest. They probe into themes essential to the Christian faith--communion, salvation, social responsibility, hope, and love--with a sincerity that gives substance to their work. Musically, the album occasionally has a harder alternative feel than the pop-rock King of Fools (just compare "Deeper" with "Deeper 99"). Most notable, though, is the atmospheric, even ethereal, sound produced by the electronic programming and filtered guitars. Although difficult to penetrate at first, for the diligent listener it will result in innumerable pleasures, once the layered sounds are allowed to aid the melody and lyrics in ushering the listener toward the very heart of God.

Closing Considerations

If we are too quick to bemoan what as seen as a departure from Delirious? Cutting Edge worship style, we must remember three things:

First, despite representing different musical styles and influences, songs from the two most recent albums are worship psalms whose heart-felt cries to God and charges to the church have a strong presence in the Bible and in the history of the church. "Sanctify," "White Ribbon Day," "Kiss Your Feet," and "Jesus' Blood" all are excellent examples of this.

Second, it is wrong for us to demand that Delirious? fit the frame of the band we want them to be if that conflicts with their calling from God. Martin Smith describes their responsibilities this way: "We obviously don't take ourselves too seriously, but we take the whole process of following God very seriously. We all talk about always trying to follow the cloud, which is a difficult thing. Sometimes it confuses you, because it takes you in directions that are not the obvious way. For us, our heart is to reach out to people outside the church, and that often means making decisions that don't always profit us. But we do feel a big responsibility to the generation that God has raised us up to speak to." Let's encourage them and share in their journey as we struggle with them to follow the cloud.

Third, we must seriously analyze what we categorize as "worship music." This is a significant subject, and beyond the scope of this article, but we must consider whether worship can take place in all areas of life and music, or only those set aside and labeled as such (Consider: is it antithetical for an album to be labeled "worship" and to be sold for $18?).

So what do we do with Delirious?

We worship with them. We accept them as brothers. And we don't ask them to fit in our frame of what Christian music is supposed to be. Maybe we could learn a lesson from the English, letting them turn Christian music on its head--a British Inversion.