Delerium

Chimera (Nettwerk America)
by Lex Marburger

First off, that’s not a typo, it really is spelled Delerium. Secondly, they haven’t changed much since they got Sara McLachlan for their unexpected hit “Silence” back in 1997. Still World-music-meets-trip-hop, but safe. Chimera is lush, inoffensive, pretty, and desperately looking for a Volkswagon commercial to tie into. Largest indicator of album’s mediocrity: The use of Leigh Nash, the chick from Sixpence None the Richer, and (wait for it) none other than the Medæval Bæbes (note: The “ae” combination are those silly Gothic characters that combine the two letters). Granted, it’s not all that bad; after all, when I say “inoffensive,” I mean even I can’t get totally pissed off at it. They get Julee Cruise (you may have seen her singing in various David Lynch movies) on a track, and even though Chimera doesn’t sound like much has progressed in six years (you can identify identical samples from their Karma album), it’s still a decent enough album not to turn off once it’s on.
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