The Delays
Faded Seaside Glamour

The first thing I’m reminded of when I hear Greg Gilbert’s falsetto is Justin Hawkins but ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ owes more to U2 and the Smiths with the sixties in the background than the Darkness. It’s a deceptively fragile record that’s actually quite strong despite that falsetto which could be used less as it overwhelms songs (if you can imagine that) and given that Gilbert has a good voice it’s a shame. By and large, the tunes are pretty good – uplifting and life-affirming. Just when I’m thinking ‘no more falsetto, please!’, ‘Long Time Coming’ kicks in and Gilbert actually sings normally which works much better. It’s lovely summery indie that leaves you thinking if beaches and sunny picnics.

Surprisingly, the mood takes a sharp turn downwards after that, instead deciding to indie shoegaze morosely on Bedroom Scene showing that they can vary their sound a bit. The band’s biography describes the band as the ‘British Byrds’ but that’s not really accurate, the album is more astute, melancholy and modern than that. ‘No Ending; is absolutely gorgeous with a jazzy touch mixed with the Doves’ first album and it builds up to a chorus only to drop away again. Happy and sad as the tune swings between the two whilst Gilbert sings of ‘the noose around our kiss’.

Tracks like ‘Long Time Coming’ and ‘You Wear the Sun’ surprise and confound me. The tunes are so upbeat but then the lyrics are about being invisible to the love of your life (‘Long Time Coming’) or staying away from a girl because she’s too dangerous (‘You Wear the Sun’). ‘Stay Where you Are’ is another downcast song proving that The Delays are better at sad than happy, even if it does have a feel of Chris DeBurgh about it. It’s certainly an improvement on the previous track, the most Byrds-like moment, ‘Hey Girl’ which is an average piece of pop that really doesn’t do much for the album. However, the award for worst rhyming on the album definitely goes to ‘There’s Water Here’ with ‘There’s water here/To last all year’ and overall it’s a really bad song.

If you’re after a heavy record, this definitely isn’t for you. The Delays are a better class of indie band and they could be great if only the falsetto was used less and there weren’t so many jangly, average tunes like ‘Hey Girl’ and ‘One Night Away’. If you like any of the above mentioned bands, you’ll probably like this.

(Rough Trade)

Natasha Perry