Delirious? once again delivers a quality project in Kingdom of Comfort, their final CD with a lineup that remained constant for well over a decade. Drummer Stew Smith has retired from touring and has been replaced by Paul Evans, who grew up in England emulating Smith's style before establishing himself as a first-rate drummer.
Themes include worship, sacrifice, social justice and more. "Stare The Monster Down" is an upbeat song about cancer (that sounds strange, but it works) the fall of Lucifer, and the cries of the oppressed. The title track powerfully attacks consumerism:
Save me save me / From the kingdom of comfort where I am king / From my unhealthy lust of material things / I rob myself of innocence / With the poison of indifference
All Delirious? fans will find something to savor here, from Stu G's scorching guitars on the rocking "Give What You've Got" to the sing-along choral worship chorus of "My Soul Sings." As always, Martin Smith deliver a strong vocal performance, backed by Tim Jupp on keys and Jon Thatcher on bass.
Kingdom of Comfort stays strong throughout, a remedy for mediocre modern worship that sound alike on every song. Here you'll get musical and lyrical variety with the expected Brit pop flavors influenced by bands like Coldplay, U2 and Radiohead. Snow Patrol factors in as well, with former member Iain Archer helping to pen "Break the Silence." After all, we can hardly expect a pop rock worship band from Britain to not deliver Brit pop rock, can we? I rate Kingdom of Comfort as one of the top three or four Delirious? albums ever.