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Biography (courtesy of Furious Records)

For a band who are truly global, who have connected so truly with so many people there can be only one choice of title for this, their sixth studio album: World Service. This is big picture stuff, full of epics, anthems and soundtracks designed to draw a crowd, capture breath and leave the listener stunned at the view.

World Service ties in nicely with the way things are right now…global, determined, intent on listening to God and happy to take their place, wherever that may be, to put it simply, World Service is Delirious at their world-serving finest; massively musically inventive, lyrically lavishly insightful and spiritually, well, where they ought to be: on their knees.

For a band who crave the connections they make with audiences from the stage, World Service is an ominisonic masterpiece. With atmosphere, emotion and movement imported by the bus-load, the album is an all-embracing experience, something to be felt just as much as it is heard. And what's the result of this fine craftsmanship? Through dynamite lyrics and 3D choruses Delirious build each song up to a spectacular peak, offering the finest musical mountains you could wish for. Once up there, the view from the top is one of the finest natural highs around.

After the raw, reduced sound of Touch/Audiolesson Over, the band return to their roots of home-spun intuition, sharing the production chair with Julian Kindred (Mercy Me, Sonicflood, Mezzamorphis). The mix comes courtesy of Sam Gibson (Crowded House, Neil Finn, Pearl Jam, Grace Jones) and the venue for the creative process was decidedly local (a five minute walk from their self-run HQ outside Arundel on Englan's South Coast).

Even though they might have been sharing studio space with local bands intrigued by the noise, Delirious had their eyes firmly on the prize: an album that would truly reflect their passion for hooking up with people around the world, leaving them feeling encouraged, inspired and prepped for the next stage of their journey. Take "Rain Down": a 100% pure classic with all the bump of "Deeper" and the prophetic fire of "History Maker," a universal prayer written for the right here and the right now. Or there's the warm chaos of "Fell It's Coming On," where Martin yells like a pale and wild-eyed mad prophet, all the elements going off in his face while choral keyboards ruck with cyberpunk guitars. It's a complex sound, one made even better with the addition of a bit of volume and enthusiasm. Like fireworks let off all at once, Delirious throw it all into the pot at the same time: epic choruses, manic crashes and more…

To fine the power, to catch the money shot, the knock-me-down-with-a-feather slice of World Service you need to look no further than the flag-bearing "Majesty". Slow-burning yet 100% toxic, the track builds on a pure gold melody and carries the theme that gives life wherever it goes: grace and perseverance. With 10,000 copies of the track already handed out over the summer of 2003, it's also going to be the first of two free downloads available on ww.delirious.co.uk. Like the rest of World Service, "Majesty" offers up the personal with the universal and remains both inclusive and accessible. The album draws the listener in the shared experience: joy or pain, there's room for us all.

And this is the heart of it; the open arms of the world service, when everyone's invited. You can hear it in the sublime chaos of the choruses: the sound of crowds and congregations united. There are the lyrics that invite a shared response and the riffs, beats, melodies and sparkles that sign this one off as their best yet. "Greater things are yet to come' ends one trackand they do.