Review

Best known for contributing songs to the Vineyard's "The Burn Service", "Never Looking Back" and "Sweetly Broken" compilations, Nipomo, CA's Ryan Delmore releases his full-length debut "The Spirit, the Water & the Blood", an remarkable album of new material on Vineyard imprint Varietal Records.

Delmore, a worship leader in the Vineyard church for over 15 years, has crafted one of the most well-made, honest and unique worship albums I've come across in a long time. By blending his alt-country, rock, folk and gospel influences, Delmore mines territory inhabited by like-minded artists such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Ryan Adams. I find it difficult to make any comparisons within the Christian community because aside from some of Delmore's earlier work, I honestly haven't heard anyone else bring this particular sound to worship music before.

The album's eclectic batch of songs range from louder, full-band praise songs featuring B3 organ and pedal steel ("Provide For Me", "Jesus' Name", "The World Can't Take It Away"), to more intimate acoustic guitar-based worship songs ("Sacred", "Nowhere To Be Seen", "True Religion"). Most of the songs feature Marc Ford's exceptional electric guitar work, and female vocalist Kirsten Ford, who counters Delmore's grittier vocal style with honeyed tones that are occasionally a dead-ringer for Emmylou Harris. The album was brilliantly recorded and produced by fellow worship leader Chris Lizotte, who also contributes harmony vocals, and who knew exactly how to bring out an authentic, rootsy sound without over-producing the recording to the point of homogenization. There is a warm and genuine nature to the sound of these songs that you don't often hear in today's worship music. At times the playing can sound quite loose, but the musicianship is definitely there, and it adds a ton of character to the album as a whole.

Not only does "The Spirit, the Water & the Blood" come from an authentic place musically, but it is spot-on lyrically as well, especially from a spiritual standpoint. Delmore borrows liberally from Scripture in every song, including references to Luke 1:46-47 and Isaiah 61:3 in "Sing Like Mary Sang", James 1:27 and Luke 4:18 (among others) in "True Religion" and many, many more. In addition to praising God's other attributes, most of the songs tend to focus on Christ's sacrifice for sins, His redemptive and transformative love, the life He has brought us out of and what He desires of us from that point forward.

As an added value for worship leaders, the enhanced CD features printable lyric sheets and chord charts for every song on the album. I can see quite a few of these songs being used regularly in worship services or to accent a message or Scripture passage referenced in a particular song. I recommend this CD to worship leaders seeking songs with a country-rock feel for their Praise and Worship, and to anyone who is a fan of the folk-rock, country-rock or alternative-country styles of music.

For my money, it's one of the best releases of the year in any genre.

Review by Marc Dooley