It's been a little over two years since Delirious have released an album with all new material on it. Since the Audio Lessonover in 2001, Delirious have released Deeper, Access:d, and have repackaged Audio Lessonover for the US in the form of Touch. Delirious have spent the past two years promoting singles to the UK mainstream radio, opening for acts like Jon Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, launching (the now defunct) Furious Records USA, as well as headlining countless tours and special events around the world. To say that Delirious have been keeping busy would be an understatement.

With World Service, Delirious embrace a year of exhilarating highs and tragic lows to bring to the table their most solid album to date. The production style on World Service is more like 1999's Mezzamorphis than recent projects. Whereas GLO and Audio Lessonover/Touch had a raw - almost live - sounding feel to them, World Service feels a little overproduced at times.

World Service is full of anthems for the church and for everyday life. "Grace Like a River," "God In Heaven," "Majesty," and "I Was Blind" will surely find their way into a few churches, while "Mountains High" and "Every Little Thing" will bring comfort to those who are hurting.

The weakest track, and the biggest flaw on the album is undoubtedly "Everyone Knows." The effect of "Everyone Knows" on World Service is similar to the effect you would get if you took a song from Cutting Edge One (such as "The Happy Song" or "Singers Song") and put it in the middle of Mezzamorphis. While "Everyone Knows" is not a bad song by any stretch, it just feels out of place and awkward when mixed with the rest of the songs on World Service.

That being said, with World Service it feels like Delirious are just being themselves and doing what they do best rather than trying to either please the church or the mainstream market. The result is an amazing collection of songs that will surely be an immediate classic for Delirious fans.

- Review date: 12/8/03, written by David Taylor