I've been with the delgados since the Lazarwalker days. They've had some fantastic songs, but it wasn't until The Great Eastern that I felt they'd done a great album. So we have the nervous listener situation - can they follow up a great? As I've said elsewhere, the Kinneys and the Lips didn't quite do it for me this year - so what about the delgados?
Unlike The Great Eastern, it seems to me that the touch of Dave Fridmann is very palpable here. There is something discernably 'processed' about some of the sounds on this record - in a way that is very different but still reminiscent of 'Yoshimi...'.
So, one song at a time, here are my impressions.
The choral sound in the chorus reminds me a little of the Edward Scissorhands music (a good thing). It gives way to some extreme sounds (is it strings?), that are actually quite catchy. It's a great opening song - down but up.
For me this is a weak point. Lyrically it seems to set itself up somewhere between Sympathy For The Devil and All You Need Is Love - the sentiment is pithy.
Another Emma song (like the first) and another one with choral elements that seem to expand the possibilities of the song. It has a huge climax that switches from what I guess is a minor key to major - and the lyrics seems to switch to a positive theme, but abruptly saying 'we will kill if we need to'.
Another song that starts quietly - building up powerfully. The arrangement of the second verse is quite at odds with the first and makes the song stronger for it.
"Try for the right kind of life" says the chorus in this clever song that keeps you on your toes as the lyrics twist around and confound your expectations: "Not to blame, no one's telling you you're not to blame". It's your life that's going under the microscope. "How can you call this fair?" - indeed.
There is something about the word 'brain' that is very
unpoetic to me - me. I'll go for mind every time. So saying 'I
lost my brain' early in the song is not what I want to hear.
The Beatley chorus (which song does it remind me of? - can't put
my finger on it), brings it out of what looked like a dead end.
It's all up from there - with an ending that seems to make no
rhythmic sense at first - but that's the delagados all over - of
course it's right.
One of the things I love about the delgados is their love of
3/4 time. It's not a self-conscious effort to freshen things up
with a change of time, they just like writing in it.
Here's another of Emma's vocals with more challenging backing
vocals going on that in this case add mystery to the song. The
chorus is masterful, and the way it segues into a string break
midway through is beautiful.
Alun's vocal songs seem to get better as the album goes on. All Rise has what seems like a late high point where the 'All Rise' lyric comes in. To a melody that tells us it will all be alright, Alun is patently telling us it won't "At this moment your heart should grow" (it is!) "but I'm tired cold used and sore" - you're giving up, but I'm afraid I've got this far and won't.
"I'm hoping and praying there's one life worth
saving" seems such a desparate central line to the song. I
guess she's saying "I hope all this is worth it".
"Some cold comfort is waiting somewhere" is another
pivotal line.
This is a beautiful song, but I do have difficulty with its bleak
outlook. "In between us there are colours but they're hidden
from view" - there seems to be laughter in the backgroud as
this line is sung.
"It's not too late" the song ends in the written lyrics
- but I don't hear it sung.
An appropriate ending: "if this is a plan then I'm dead where I stand". The first time during listening that I feel they're being ironic - either that or the music needs more work to sound appropriately suicidal! Against all odds we seem to be looking forward with something close to optimism.
The despair of this album is not the glamorous non-specific-angst that you can wallow in - from the likes of Radiohead or a thousand others, and this makes it much harder to stomach. There is a stark contrast between the bald written lyrics and the creativity that has gone into it to bring it all to life. The music and expression belies the no hope and claustrophobia of some of the lyrics - it tells us that our heroes have humanity - and ok so humanity is shit quite a lot of the time, but some people do try, and this makes it worth trying for everyone else.
On the whole I really like this album - it is one of the best so far, but I feel I have to qualify that - there has to be a "but" because of its contradictions.
Neal - 17/11/02