A varied and interesting record
Delays return with their second album, an album which builds on what they achieved with 'Faded Seaside Glamour', as they continue to develop into more than just another British guitar pop band.
'You See Colours' is very strong throughout, but there are two tracks near the beginning which show the contrasting extremes of the Delays sound and sum up perfectly what this band are all about.
It opens up with unaccompanied, haunting vocals, once the full body of the track kicks in we're treated to a more mature, but still fundamentally pop based song. 'You And Me' gets the album off to a flying start.
The next couple of tracks are the ones which take us to the two diverse aspects of what Delays do. Lead single 'Valentine' is the stereotypical quality pop hit. I hate to use the words Scissor and Sisters as this could be misleading. However there is certainly something a bit 'Filthy Gorgeous' about this track. It's a dance record with guitars, there is a camp disco flamboyance but in no way is 'Valentine' cheesy. All of these aspects, built over a mechanical, electronic bass line, and vocals which have a slightly robotic nature gives this the feel of a classic floor filler such as Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love'.
'This Town's Religion' also has a classic feel to it, however in a totally different direction from that of 'Valentine'. Musically this is more traditional rock, and the intro is very reminiscent of mid eighties U2, the sort of thing you might have expected from the 'Unforgettable Fire' Album. A result of the Delays vocal style being so distinctive, it masks the fact that the rest of the track also has a U2 like authority to it.
There are other flashes of eighties pop on 'You See Colours'. 'Too Much In Your Life' starts out as the sort of song Eurythmics might have written when at the top of their game. Towards the end it winds down several notches and the dominant, strong harmonies are the sort of thing which would appeal to Magic Numbers fans.
'Winter's Memory of Summer' is one of the stand out tracks, nothing flash or over complicated, following the kind of winning formula Texas use when at their best.
The most striking thing about the development of Delays is how they have far more tracks to choose from on this album which would make for great singles. Just when you think you've found your favourite track, another one comes along, 'Given Time' is also right out of the top draw. Again sticking with the theme of simple but effective melodies, with a sound which is familiar yet very much distinctive to this Southampton four-piece.
This genre hopping album doesn't have anything which could be described as a really relaxed, ambient, chill out song, something which this band would suit. There are sections within songs which do this, and the vocals would work well over a track produced in the style of someone like Massive Attack or Zero7. That said 'You See Colours' doesn't really suffer for the lack of such a track, and is overall a very interesting, diverse and enjoyable piece of work.