Delays - Everything's The Rush

“This album dazzles with wide-eyed wonder.” NME

“Pop-song mastery honed to perfection ****” The Fly

“Delays are back with a third album and are, for the third time in their career, in severe danger of becoming one of the biggest guitar bands in the country. If they manage to nick The Feeling's fans they might just pull it off....File it under 'brilliant pop comeback', then file is alphabetically within 'brilliant pop comeback' then within the 'D' section of 'brilliant pop comeback' organise the CD spines according to colour.

Then take the CD back off the shelf and play it again because it's brilliant.” Popjustice

Delays are indeed back this May with the best album of their career, the triumphant “Everything’s The Rush” - the first from their new home of Fiction Records. Jim Chancellor, Director of Fiction, says that “Delays are the future of Fiction” – coming from the man who propelled Snow Patrol, Elbow and Kate Nash to stardom, he could well be right.

Already garnering rave reviews, “Everything’s The Rush” is packed with technicolour hits and singles-in-waiting - simply a joy of a record. The schoolboy friends and band-mates for a decade (brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly) are geared up and ready to go, with a galvanised fanbase who are hungry for the new record, after whetting their appetites with a ltd EP last Autumn, and continual touring.

Since the release of their 2004 Gold debut “Faded Seaside Glamour” and 2006’s “You See Colours” , which between them spawned classic singles and alpha-pop hits like “Long Time Coming”, “Nearer Than Heaven”, “Valentine” (an NME Track of The Week) and “Hideaway” the Southampton quartet have had a roller-coaster time of it: from sold-out U.S. tours, playing to huge crowds at T in The Park, The Isle of Wight Festival, The V's, a bull-ring in Mexico and recording their new album in a chateaux in Spain.

Recorded over twenty days acclaimed producer Youth (Primal Scream/Verve/Paul McCartney),”Everything’s The Rush” is the sound of Delays striding confidently into a new chapter. The tunes are even brighter, the choruses even bigger. “We recorded at Youth’s villa in Grenada, which is high up in the mountains” explains Aaron (keyboards/vocals). “When you’re staring at a mountain in a room full of amps, you want to make a sound that’s as big as the sky.”

The songs may be the musical equivalent of a huge gulp of alpine air, but listen closer and the lyrics reveal a darker aftertaste. Explains Greg (vocals/guitar). “A song like “Hooray” sounds really uplifting, but it’s actually about me having O.C.D” he laughs. “For us,” says Aaron “melody is king. We want to make music which sends a shiver down your spine.” Hear it in the rich swell of “Keep It Simple”, the sky-scraping stomp of “Touchdown”, the rich pop melodies of “Love Made Visible” and the string-soaked cornerstone of the album “Pieces”.

The result is a record that sits comfortably in the current scene of crossover guitar indie-pop acts, such as The Feeling and The Wombats, and with fans from Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters (“The best record I’ve heard all year”) to the likes of Oasis and Franz Ferdinand, the band straddle that line between crossover accessibility and credible acclaim.
2008 is poised to see Delay break out into the mainstream over a phased campaign – phase 1 upon the album’s May release, focussing on fanbase (the album will be preceded with a ltd, non charting single “Hooray”), leading quickly into phase 2, with the service of the crowning glory of the album “Keep It Simple” in July, which will be out after their Wireless Festival performance.

Turn up the speakers; join the rush.

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!