Live At the Tracking Room

On its sophomore album, One Sonic Society matches new material with tunes from its debut, Forever Rein, in a live studio setting. Veteran Christian songwriter/producer Jason Ingram, former Delirious? members Stuart Gerrard (guitar) and Jonathan Thatcher (bass), and Hillside United’s Paul Mabury (drums) make impressive strides as an ensemble. The music here is expansive and subtly textured, achieving an overarching grandeur rather than indulging in rock heroics. That’s not to say the set lacks energy and drive—“Lay Me Down” and “Light Shine In” in particular are stirring. Most often, though, OSS takes a more subdued approach as the group lays down washes of sound that frame Ingram’s quietly intense vocals. “Higher Than All,” “Jesus, Son of God," and “God You Are My God” stand out as contemplative hymns of stark, compelling beauty. Gerrard’s ambient guitar lines on “Forever Reign” show that the power and delicacy of his playing during his Delirious? days remains undiminished. Live at the Tracking Room invokes the intimacy of a midnight church service, with prayerful mediations and eloquent calls to worship.