I’m not sure if there’s a way to describe my love for the strange Indie pop the Delays produces. It can be soothing and immensely relaxing, energizing, or heartbreaking and introspective.
I was introduced to them after buying the Veronica Mars soundtrack, which had this little gem on it titled “Long Time Coming.” Funny thing: I legitimately thought Greg was a woman until I looked the band up. And realized that there aren’t any women in it. And I still had to look twice to believe it.
So, let’s take a look at Faded Seaside Glamour, their first, most exploratory, and most diverse album.
1. Wanderlust-don’t be jarred by the first few notes, sung in a soaring falsetto. And yes, he’s a guy. “Wanderlust” is an interesting composition for the Delays, mostly because of the steel drums the guitars are classic Delays. The steel drums ain’t. But it all works, and brings a really chilled-out flavor to the music. It’s hypnotic and cathartic.
2. Nearer than Heaven-this is as close as The Delays come to “the charts” on this album. Again, we have the sunny guitars, chorusing falsettos, and generally laid-back atmosphere.
3. Long Time Coming-one of my favorite songs of all time. The siren-like noises at the beginning somehow just capture the seashore for me, the feeling of elegiacal summer days; the lyrics don’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’s so easy to sing to, and Greg’s vocals are gruffer than usual. It’s simply…perfect.
4. Bedroom Scene-definitely a huge shift in tone from the happy guitars of the previous three songs; “Bedroom Scene” is a strange little introspection, dark and moody but without much heavy weight. A looping piano adds to the melancholic atmosphere; this is where the poetry in the band comes out.
5. No Ending-another introspective piece, I feel that “No Ending” is much more successful than the previous track. It switches gracefully from a wistful verse to a building climactic refrain, which teases us before sliding right back into a verse. Strings play an important role here in lending to the sad tone; there is a lovely lush bridge of purely chorus in the middle, too. Some of my favorite lyrics of all time are here in the opening:
I've seen you hanging from blistering skies Holding yourself with a grace that defies
6.You Wear the Sun-we’re out of sullen waters here. This song is nice, easy listening; in terms of their upbeat songs on this album (which are pretty evenly weighted with their more brooding pieces, a contrast to later albums, where the former far outweigh the latter) “You Wear the Sun” does well. There’s not much to say, although an interesting combination is a cheerful piano tune combined with the usual echoing guitars.
7.Hey Girl-a little piece of glistening pop, nothing comes off on the album quite as easily and with as much simple pleasure as "Hey Girl" does.
8. There’s Water Here-weird little experimental song. Probably my least favorite on the album.
9. Stay Where You Are-this song is actually a hint of what’s to come on future albums, especially the mean chords at the beginning and “fuck-you” tone, complete with the “spoons in the back room” drug references. It’s a much more cohesive effort, though not the best for this album; it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. The one problem which is fixed on later albums is the lack of a punch in the chorus.
10. Satellites Lost- the joy in listening to this song comes, for me, in the simple lyrics of the chorus. Seriously. Apart from a really nice, easy guitar line, and some really pretty harmonizing on the chorus, the words are the best part.
11. One Night Away-again, a more cohesive effort for this album. “One Night Away” is still a little meandering and mellow to fully predict what’s to come on You See Colours (their sophomore album), but it’s there.
12. On-obviously the lyrics aren’t the highlight of this song, since they basically consist of one word-the title. But we still get an idea of why the Delays are talented. They can take one word and make it into a good, pulsing, addictive song. Voila!
-elln
