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They don’t make music like this anymore. Well they
do, but unfortunately it’s produced, packaged and pushed
to a nation who doesn’t know any better. They call it
pop. Luckily for us, Southampton four-piece, Delays,
have waded through the mire and salvaged what they can
with dizzy pop perfection.
It’s a combination of effortless harmonies and cascading
melodies, provided by jack in the box keyboardist, Aaron
Gilbert. It makes for a refreshing change seeing keyboards
used to a purpose, and not reminding you of that piss
poor 80’s tribute band that played at your uncles 40th.
Pint sized frontman Greg Gilbert has that boy next door
appeal, and a choirboy voice that could end wars or
at the very least, stand him head and shoulders above
the rest of his mewling contemporaries. Proof you don’t
need a bumbling c*** and a cult in white robes to make
you feel good about yourself. Songs such as new single
‘Long time coming’, Wanderlust’ and ‘Nearer than heaven’
have the poignancy and the ability to make you grab
the nearest stranger and cry into their pint of Carling.
These boys are anything but your average indie-pop guitar
band.
This is pop at its peak and indie at its most pure
and melodic, but behind the swagger lies a sensitivity.
The pussycat growl of Greg is as heartfelt as it could
be harrowing, but musically and vocally, it’s the equivalent
of ecstasy. In new song ‘Stop’, the keyboard pummels
and stomps with every heartbeat, and its behind the
tumbling guitar that there is a definitive electronic
edge that has that dancing/foot tapping potential. But
tonight the crowd want to drift, not dance. Delays make
music where you want to do both. Just close your eyes
and melt.
Relevant sites:
http://www.thedelays.co.uk/
Sherief Younis for Crud Magazine 2004©
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