Delays

Faded Seaside Glamour (Rough Trade)
by Tim Den

Call the Academy of Sciences: the Brits have learned how to transmogrify land mass! How else could Delays mate warm, West Coast jet streams with English cloudy seaports? There’s simply no other explanation!

Ahem, in all seriousness, Faded Seaside Glamour truly dumbfounds me. On one hand, comparisons to The Byrds and jangly, American guitar pop of the ’60s aren’t far-fetched, what with the easily-recognizable attributes of said band/genre… but the intentions within the songs (not to mention the beat of single “Long Time Coming”) evoke Northern soul ala The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, which are about as gloomy as you can get with pop. So how is this duality possible? How are these songs both sunshiny and mournful?

Perhaps the album title sums it up best. Like an abandoned boardwalk, it still soaks up and reflects the summer sun, but is no longer the vibrant, cherished locale showered with people’s love. There are echoes of glories past in the ocean breeze, and the wear-and-tear of its wooden planks prove that it had a prime once. But encasing the memories are its present day conditions: Lonely, yearning for the past, and slowly fading from history.

A truly sweet and sour cocktail, Faded Seaside Glamour will both uplift your soul and strike a sentimental stake through your heart. How can you resist with that angelic falsetto?
(www.roughtradeamerica.com)