Delivery Force Majeure
Delivery's Force Majeure arrives as a bracing, communal blast of garage-punk and post-punk energy that critics say mostly succeeds at translating live rush into recorded urgency. Across five professional reviews the album earned a 79.8/100 consensus score, with unanimous attention to the opener “Digging The Hole” and strong agreement on tunes like “Operating At A Loss”, “What For?” and “Put Your Back Into It” as immediate highlights.
The critical consensus emphasizes propulsive momentum and guitar interplay - reviewers consistently praise the record's urgent rhythms, shouty and mixed-gender vocals, and four-part communal hooks that swell into live-ready anthems. Critics from Maximum Volume Music and Tinnitist point to the balance between noise and melody on songs such as “Put Your Back Into It” and “Operating At A Loss”, while Louder Than War and Clash Music celebrate the album's party energy, punk-funk detours and moments of measured groove found in tracks like “Exacto” and “The New Alphabet”.
Views are broadly positive but nuanced: some reviews note a raw, bratty tunefulness and occasional sensory overload where the band leans hard into garage-punk revival tropes, which may divide listeners who prefer tighter production. Still, reviewers consistently recommend starting with the best songs on Force Majeure - especially “Digging The Hole” and “Operating At A Loss” - as proof of Delivery's knack for crowd-pleasing hooks and social commentary lodged inside jagged guitar work. For readers scanning Force Majeure reviews, the consensus suggests this record is worth hearing for its live-ready charge and standout singles before diving deeper into the album's textured moments.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Digging The Hole
5 mentions
"two, sometimes three guitars slash in unison"— Dusted Magazine
Operating At A Loss
5 mentions
"A bass booms. Drums clatter."— Dusted Magazine
What For?
5 mentions
"Just listen to ‘Operating at a Loss’ with its coffee references followed by ‘What For?’"— Clash Music
two, sometimes three guitars slash in unison
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Digging The Hole
Like A Million Bucks
Operating At A Loss
What For?
Stuck In The Game
The New Alphabet
Deadlines
Focus, Right
What Else?
Only A Fool
Put Your Back Into It
Exacto
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Delivery strike a pleasing balance on Force Majeure, where the best songs - “Digging The Hole”, “Put Your Back Into It” and “What Else?” - show off the band’s pulsing garage-punk drive and thoughtful lyrical twists. Damian Sullivan’s tone is admiring and precise, noting how the shouty opener “Digging The Hole” rolls along then softens into reflective percussion, while the vibrant “Put Your Back Into It” rages and races with a brief solo. He singles out “What Else?” as a mesmerising listen with an electronic underbelly, and praises the album’s switching singers for keeping anticipation high. Overall the review positions these tracks as the album’s most immediate rewards, marrying appetite for noise with surprising melodic and lyrical depth.
Key Points
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The best song is energetic opener “Digging The Hole” for its shouty rhythm and late reflective turn.
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The album’s core strengths are pulsing garage-punk energy, thoughtful lyrics, and the intrigue of multiple lead singers.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his terse, vivid style Darryl Sterdan presents Delivery's Force Majeure as a record driven by momentum, naming “Digging The Hole” and “Operating At A Loss” as the best songs that propel the album forward. He praises the opening surge of “Digging The Hole” - "three and a half minutes of precise forward motion" - and singles out “Operating At A Loss” for its "punk rock / new wave kick" and memorable second-verse rant. Sterdan’s lines about The New Alphabet and “What Else?” place those tracks among the album's strongest moments, while his overall tone celebrates the band's tight rhythm section and biting guitars. The narrative reads like a back-page appreciation, economical and full of kinetic praise for the best tracks on Force Majeure.
Key Points
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The best song, "Digging The Hole", is the album's kinetic centerpiece due to its relentless momentum and explosive finale.
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Force Majeure's core strengths are tight rhythm, biting guitars, and a seamless blend of garage rock and post-punk influences.
Themes
Critic's Take
Delivery sound like they mean business on Force Majeure, with the best songs - “Digging The Hole” and “What For?” - kicking off a bruising, live-ready set. The reviewer delights in the band’s ability to alternate furious garage rippers with slower, groovier moments like “Focus, Right” and “The New Alphabet”. There is real praise for the record’s ebbs and flows, and the communal vocals that make tracks feel bigger than the sum of their parts. Overall, the best tracks on Force Majeure are lauded for their fuzz, muscle and instant crowd-pleasing hooks, making this one of the more thrilling garage punk statements of 2025.
Key Points
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The best song is a live-ready opener because “Digging The Hole” combines fuzzy riffs, tricky drums and Parquet Courts-style energy.
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The album’s core strengths are its ebbs and flows, collaborative vocals and mixing of garage punk with funk and psych touches.
Themes
Critic's Take
Delivery’s Force Majeure feels like a jolting sprint of post-punk adrenaline, where the best songs - particularly “Digging The Hole” and “Operating At A Loss” - showcase two or three guitars slashing in unison and brash, bratty tunefulness. The record rewards repeated listens with terse, urgent hooks and a rhythm section that booms and clatters, making those standout tracks the album’s clearest victories. There is a measured rawness here, a band leaning into coordinated flourishes and call-and-response vocals that make the best tracks irresistible. Overall, if you search for the best tracks on Force Majeure, start with “Digging The Hole” and “Operating At A Loss” and let the rest tumble after them.
Key Points
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The best song is driven by interlocking guitars and bratty, tuneful vocals that make it immediately arresting.
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The album's core strengths are urgent guitar interplay, mixed-gender vocal hooks, and a booming rhythm section.
Themes
Critic's Take
On first listen to Delivery’s Force Majeure the reviewer is swept up in the riotous joy of the record, repeatedly pointing to best songs like “Digging The Hole” and “Exacto” as bookends that hook and never let go. The review emphasizes highlights such as “Operating At A Loss” and “What For?” for their off-kilter, coffee-referenced charm, and praises “The New Alphabet” for its midway slowdown that still crackles. This account answers queries about the best tracks on Force Majeure by naming clear standouts and explaining why the album’s communal vocals and garage-punk energy make those songs shine. The tone is enthusiastic and vivid, insisting that these are the tracks most likely to make you grin, dance and sing together.
Key Points
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The best song is the opening “Digging The Hole” because it immediately hooks the reviewer and exemplifies the album's riotous energy.
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The album’s core strengths are its communal vocal interplay, off-kilter garage-punk vigor, and joyous, danceable songwriting that blends punk and 1980s electronica touches.