The Delays are a foursome from Southampton. Faded Seaside Glamour is their first and only album. The Delays are brit-pop, but have a different sound from bands like Oasis and Blur which have defined the scene. By drawing influences from The La's, The Hollies, and Cocteau Twins, Delays have created a beautiful and addicting record. The Delays were originally known as Corky, and have toured with the Thrills, and the Sleepy Jackson. Their sound is defined by frontman Greg Gilbert's beautiful falsetto singing voice, and throwback 60's pop melodies.
Wanderlust
The album starts off with a steel drum, shimmering guitar strums, and beautiful falsetto vocals. The song has a bit of a dreamy Caribbean vibe. The vocals and harmonies on this song are amazing. This is a really good feel good song with great hooks, and a perfect opener to the album.
5/5
Nearer Than Heaven
This is one of the 3 singles off of this album, and is one of my favorites. A short guitar riff intro and then the wall of harmonized vocals come in. Another dreamy song. The vocals are what makes this song so great. The shimmering guitar is wonderful too, but the best songs on the album are the one where the vocals are the focal point, and that is what makes this one so good.
5/5
Long Time Coming
This is another of the album's singles, and my second favorite song on the album. A distant guitar fades in, and a clapping percussion open the song, and the verse just builds up to an addicting, infectious chorus. This song has so many hooks, and is easily worthy of repeated listening. Again, like with most of the songs, the harmonized vocals are the greatest part of the song.
5/5
Bedroom Scene
There is a keyboard intro to start the song, repeating a riff. A drum joins, and the vocals that come in aren't the usual falsetto. This is the first darker song on the album, and actually follows a more straightforward rock progression from verse to chorus. I like this song, particularly on the pre-chorus, and the part where he sings "baby what I'm trying to say. I lost you in translation". Overall, it doesn't quite measure up to the previous 3 songs.
4/5
No Ending
This is a softer song than the previous 4, and is driven by a nice shimmering guitar and falsetto vocals. This is probably slowest and also the prettiest song on the album. It is a nice feel good song. I love the build up to the chorus only to hit a sudden point where he just whispers "no ending". It is really great. Really a wonderful song overall.
5/5
You Wear the Sun
This song is a bit faster. Again, the strong part is when he goes to falsetto to sing the chorus. This is the first song where a piano part takes the lead. It happens about midway through. Really, what makes this song so good has already been discussed. The entire album follows just about the same formula, but it is a formula that works very well.
4.5/5
Hey Girl
This is another of the singles, and is my favorite off of the album. It is a little more conventional. The falsetto is not to the point where he seems to be crooning like in previous songs, and this song has a rockier feel to it than most of the others. Again there are wonderful melodies and hooks. It has the same shimmering guitar and dreamy feel to it that the entire album does. It is hard to describe in words what makes the song so good, but it is one that you must hear to understand.
6/5
Stay Where You Are
This song is a big departure from the rest of the album. There is a piercing guitar riff repeated for the first minute or so with a distorted guitar in the background, and a nice clean guitar riff playing also. The vocals are still beautiful and dreamy, which don't really fit the mood of the song. The harmonies around the chorus are the best part of the song, but the verses are a bit weak.
3.5/5
There's Water Here
Here we have another slow song that is pretty short. It has a similar pace to "No Ending", but with slightly better singing I think. The singing makes up for what I think is one of the weaker songs from a songwriting standpoint. The one highlight is the switch from major to minor key for the chorus to give it a darker tone.
4/5
Satellites Lost
The back part of the album is overall slightly weaker than the first part, and this song is a prime example. It has beautiful vocal harmonies, but the song doesn't have the addictive pop hooks that the beginning of the album had. I still love the dreamy feel, but this song is one of those I would probably put on to listen to when I am trying to sleep.
3.5/5
One Night Away
This song is one of the more upbeat on the album. This song is similar in tempo and feel to "Hey Girl", but it lacks the same type of presence and songwriting that made "Hey Girl" so great. I think they may have tried to hard to make the guitar a center point in this song when they should have stuck to what worked the best with the vocals at the center of the song.
3/5
Up
This song is a darker one. It begins with a droning guitar in the distance. It is joined by choir-like background vocals. The vocals "I can see you" are repeated several time, then after a while the lead vocals come in and create a great hook. After each verse, the "I can see you" background vocals come in, and are very nice. The only downside is the percussion. They use a synth bass drum that sounds a bit out of place. Also the song is a bit repetitive, but overall I like it.
4/5
So while this may not be breaking new ground when it comes to music, [i]Faded Seaside Glamour[i] does manage to achieve what the Delays set out to, which was to create a feel good poppy record, and stray away from the typical britpop sound of bands like Oasis. This is one of my favorite albums of the year, and I really hate giving it anything less than a 4.5, but it isn't essential unless you like indie pop type bands, although it can be enjoyed by anyone.
