Delphic The Relentless Garage, London 7/1/10
4/5
By: Tom Hocknell
Good bands, like good women, find you; you’re seldom sure how, simply glad they did. Delphic were already poised before the ‘too much publicity too soon’ of the hyperbolic 2010 Best New Bands lists. However, the band back this up with assured tunes and production, with guitars and electronics blending seamlessly; better than has been done for some time. On the album it is hard to know exactly how influential German based producer Euan Pearson has been, but nothing is lost live, although with so much equipment on stage it’s difficult to see how there is room for them. There’re more drum machines than you can shake a stick at, which they spend much of the gig doing, in a ‘what does this button do’ fantasy.
They neatly illustrate the thin line between man and machine; the baton once perfectly idealized by Kraftwerk and enthusiastically picked up here. That’s not to say guitar is neglected, the already developing anthems soar from Matt Cockscene’s elegant six-string lines as brazen as the Edge at his best.
With every other band continually aping far older bands, Delphic have been playing down New Order comparisons, but with only the Charlatans’ superb 2008 effort, Cross My Path, and recently Bernard Sumner’s own Bad Lieutenant plugging the gap, it’s difficult to see why. Besides, they have their own identity, namely arrangements as tight as a bell, and vocal harmonies, which drift elegantly over the processed beats. Although their studious playing reduces lead singer James to interact with the crowd with simply a few mentions of ‘we’re Delphic’, they know what they’re doing. The slow burning tease of ‘This Momentary’ results in collective relief once the chorus finally swings in, while the café del Mar-esque ‘Counterpoint’ soars like a Balearic ‘Wonderwall’. Finally the, only-to-soon encore of ‘Acolyte’ slaps smiles on faces to last into next week. For once the band live up to hype.
Artists in this article: Delphic
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