at a glance...

Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Year Formed: 1994

Members:
Emma Pollock -guitars, vocals
Alan Woodward -guitars, vocals
Stewart Henderson -bass
Paul Savage -drums

Bands In The Family:
Van Impe, Mogwai, Arab Strap, Cha Cha Cohen, Bis, Yatsura, Suckle, Aereogramme, Magoo, Radar Bros.

Notes:
The Delgados came together when they created the Chemikal Underground label, which has earned a reputation for being one of the milestones of Scottish musical history. They quickly established themselves as leaders of Glasgow's flourishing music scene. Since the release of their first single in 1995, The Delgados have consolidated their reputation with three acclaimed albums: Domestiques, Peloton, and The Great Eastern. They have continued to amass loads of critical acclaim, and are championed by John Peel. They've toured with the likes of Elastica, The Wedding Present, Pavement, and Cornershop, and worked their way into hit radio (in the UK, at least) - all while running one of the best labels around.

Don't get the wrong idea about the title of this record - it is great; but it strikes me as a record of disillusionment. Take lines such as, "we spent our years dreaming, but our dreams were misleading, and now we're through..." and "your happy home is never found..." Yet it's as if the depression depicted isn't the kind which makes you howl with dejection, but the kind which just numbs you; incapable of happiness, but also incapable of profound sadness - stuck in limbo. There's a lot of piano (which is kind of a personal limbo for me), but mostly to good effect, and a beautiful use of strings. DELGADOS: If you're reading this, please use even more strings next time! Sometimes the album feels a bit too dry, but fear not - its epic stature is secured by the time the last track fades out.

The Great Eastern is an intriguing blend of inventive, experimental, innovatively panned, trip-hoppy sounds and seasoned, melancholy, Seventies-era folky songwriting. My favourite is the phenomenal "No Danger," which may just be the song of the year. Then again, I tend to prefer more rocking tunes, so I'm especially a sucker for the punch delivered by "American Trilogy" and "Thirteen Gliding Principles." I don't know to what extent the band was affected by recording this here in the U.S., or how much Dave Fridmann's production is responsible, but there is a certain "Apocalypse Now" sort of feeling to the whole thing, yet it's simultaneously super-modern... Just call it great.

If you like The Delgados, check out:
Radiohead OK Computer
Mercury Rev See You On The Other Side
Beck Mutations
The Beatles The Beatles
Belle and Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister
Sloan Between The Bridges

--Lars Rosenblum Sorgenfrei

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