The Delgados
The Delgados mark a guitar-group that knows their strengths and their weaknesses. And, thanks to their own turgid discernment, they also know that their weaknesses as a band-unit are distinctly lacking…
So why the relatively low profile, and peevish fan-base? Who knows – but it certainly counts for one of the world’s greatest mysteries, right up there with how or why Jacko’s face could so easily turn into a mound of jelly, or the hidden factors that have consistently made Status Quo acceptable over the years.
You can’t say they haven’t made the effort, though. A quartet – Alun Woodward: guitars/vox; Emma Pollock: guitars/vox; Stewart Henderson: bass; Paul Savage: drums – that have defied genres in their musical-creation, fusing indie, rock, and classical into one obtrusively melodic animal, the fact that they have additionally created one of the most well-regarded-upon, Scottish-based, independent labels in recent memory accounts for their sincere relevance.
It’s the latter that may have got heads turning and mouths moving in the first place. Their imprint, Chemikal Underground, was the spawning-ground for such discontented, Gaelic wonders as Mogwai, Arab Strap, Bis and, more recently, Aerogramme, whilst the trans-Atlantic realms of The Radar Brothers and Interpol have similarly laid instruments to record so as to support the thirst of the label’s makers. The Delgados themselves have also played a consistent, central part in ensuring their company’s output to be as rollickingly exciting as sex on a greased-up, bouncy-castle by putting together four, genius-touching full-length LPs.
Of the records to their name, there was ‘96’s ‘Domestiques’, which helped gain a swift following and rapturous support from the likes of Peelie on Radio One, whilst the enhanced development of its predecessor ‘Peleton’ in 1998 provided further highlights, not least the belligerently breath-taking ‘Pull The Wires From The Wall’. But their crème de la crème of the period was an understated masterpiece – ‘The Great Eastern’: a record so bold and enchanting that critics were using superlatives akin to chronic fornication so as to demonstrate their admiration for the provided-works.
Audiences soon grew from dozens to thousands, and have furthered with their most recent, ‘Hate’ – yet there’s still a devastating ‘shoulda-coulda-woulda’ entitlement to their name that allows all in the know to wish that The Delgados’ status was far more than an ‘indie-Scots-do-pretty-well’ tag. With music as viciously open-minded and textured as theirs, it’s a crime that the world over isn’t humming such larking charms as ‘No Danger’ or ‘Child Killers’. Whatever, this foursome remain a fascinating addition to what could otherwise be an uncultured, contrived scene.
OFFICIAL SITE: Managed by the band themselves and packed with a shockingly busy archive, this is the essential insight into the quirky four-piece.
CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND: The band\'s official label-website, which includes an online-store and featured artist-pages.
PRIMARY ALTERNATIVE: A quintessential, wholly informative fan-site.