Back in November, when I went to see Delirious? leading worship in Southampton, Paul Smith (d:'s merchandise guy and brother of Martin Smith) gave me a CD by a band called Hyperfuse (Paul's son Tom - Martin's nephew - is the bands lead singer). I've written about them on this site in the past and ever since Paul gave me their CD I've been meaning to write a review of it. I've finally done so and although this isn't strictly about Delirious?, there is an obvious connection and from time to time it's nice to mention a few other related bands on the site.

Hyperfuse - Forgotten Ally EP
DDR0905 - Dream Depot Records
Review by Dave Wood (Delirious.org.uk) Jan 2006

Hyperfuse are a four piece guitar-rock band from Littlehampton, steadily eking out an underground following with an ever increasing reputation. For the foreseeable future they will inevitably fall under the shadow of Delirious?, the band who have become synonymous with the town both bands call home. More than that, the family connection (Tom Smith, vocals, is nephew of Delirious? lead singer Martin Smith. Ben Thatcher, drums, is brother of Delirious? bass player Jon) will ensure a constant comparison and indeed Hyperfuse's guitar work (Steve Evans) more than lends a nod to Delirious' Stu G. Despite these intertwined links, Hyperfuse are more than worthy of a reputation in their own right as the Forgotten Alley EP proves.

With a sound that is heavily guitar influenced, backed up by the heavy yet subtle bass of Jamie Mellor, the band are eminently listenable. Tom Smith’s unique vocal style stands out from the start of opening track ‘Magnetise’ which hints at the band's faith, “I'll be the man You said I'd be” and sees a subtle blend of drums and guitars. In fact the exquisite guitar work demonstrates an extraordinary maturity for such a young band.

Hyerpfuse further show their undeniable musical talent in 'Bright Lights', the clear highlight of the CD. Its infectious guitar riff and catchy lyrics, sung with pure nonchalance, are superb. 'Forgotten Ally' has haunting opening guitars and spooky sounding vocals, leading to a soaring chorus, “For Your arm is stronger”, bordering on an epic sound. If Hyperfuse keep on producing tracks like these they can be assured of a bright future in the music business.

Closing track 'The Revelation' is the weakest on the CD, letting down an otherwise highly impressive showcase of their abilities. To be fair it picks up towards the end after the slightly clichéd use of distorted and distant sounding singing. This four-track CD is a teasing taster of what the band is capable of. High points are definitely the guitars and the fresh, resounding, professional overall impression the songs leave you with. When a full album follows, as it surely must, it will be something not to be missed.

Last year Hyperfuse supported bands Dweeb and Steve, and performed at Grapevine. In 2006 they are hoping to have gigs at Soul Survivor, Greenbelt and Grapevine. For more information about Hyperfuse check out Hyperfuse.com.

Edit: You can now purchase the CD from the Fierce Shop for £5.

Today I put an article on the site written by a guy called Jason Zeeman who is the frontman of a rock band called Reason from South Africa. Jason's band supported Delirious? at their concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, back in November.

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from a guy I know only as 'JP', who is the manager of the band 'Reason'. JP asked if the band he managed could write an article for my site about the time they spent with Delirious? as support band. I have to confess that my first thought was that he'd mistaken my site for the official Delirious? site (it happens from time to time). So I wrote back explaining that I just run this fan site not the official site. But JP persisted, saying that he was aware my site was a fan site but he'd still like me to publish an article the band wanted to write. Of course I was delighted to do this, and a week later the band's lead singer, Jason, e-mailed me the article. They also sent me a whole load of superb photos of Delirious? from the Johannesburg concert. In addition to the ones I've used on the site, this post contains a few more taken by a guy named Francois Van Vuuren.

I think Jason has written a really interesting behind the scenes account of the day he spent meeting Delirious?, watching them sound check, and then getting up on stage to act as their support band. I often put gig reviews on the site, but this one comes from a slightly different angle. It is brilliant to hear how much of an impression Delirious? made on this guy and the thousands of fans who turned up for the show. Jason says that in meeting Martin he could "immediately sense the hand of God upon him and can’t help but realize that he is somewhat of a modern day David, a man who knows his God and loves to chat with Him." How about that for a first impression?

I'd been planning on doing a new interview with Delirious? for a little while now, and I've finally published the interview on the site today. I wanted to get the band's perspective on some of the issues concerning The Mission Bell that people have been most confused about, or most intrigued by. So I started by asking them why they decided to release another single after such a long gap since their previous one. I also asked them if they were disappointed that the single didn't reach the Top 40. I think the answers that Tim gave on this subject were extremely interesting and confirms that the band didn't see the single as a failure. There were of course a whole host of questions that had arisen with the release of the new album, so I tried to cover as many of those as I could. I asked about the amount of Christian lyrics on the album, the songwriting credits, getting contributions from the likes of TOBYMAC and Matt Redman and what it would take to make this album a success.

Hopefully you'll find it interesting and informative to hear the band giving their views on some of these points. But I suspect that the thing fans will be most excited to read is Tim's revelation that the band are finally considering the prospect of recording a live DVD! It is probably the most talked about and most demanded product amongst fans in the past few years, and up until now Delirious? have always placed the idea in the distant future saying it isn't currently feasible. But for the first time ever, they have finally come out and said that it is something they are considering doing this year. It's not definite by any means, but it's a great piece of news to start the year with. Enjoy the interview.