Delays - 'Nearer Than Heaven' (Re-Release) (Rough Trade)
5/5
By: Clara Burtenshaw
Cheeky urchins. 'Nearer Than Heaven' will sound familiar not only since this is its second release or the fact it's received extensive radio-play, but because the sunny, jangly guitars and bittersweet tone of this Southampton quartet will evoke the poignant pop-gems laid down in the early-'90s by bands as pivotal as The La's.
Yes, 'NTH', rich in its honeyed, hazy harmonies and complimented aptly by uplifting sampled notes, resurrects the dormant spirits of the Cocteau Twins, Geneva and Lush with its dreamy backdrop and echoing maelstrom of sound. And continuing the tradition of frontmen short of stature but soaring of voice, Greg Gilbert's vocals possess a seraphic choirboy quality that enable his falsetto to ring purely and sound convincing, while the David McAlmont crossed with Annie Lennox gender ambiguity will allure.
A faultless classic in the making, a sure-fire top-ten record for the Delays and post-Strokes revived Rough Trade. The only shame is that it seems to end too soon, but in three minutes you won't get much closer to a miracle such as this for an age.
Artists in this article: Delays
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