It's Not New Order, But is it New?

Originally posted on 21/2/10

Acolyte - Delphic - Album Review

A city's musical legacy is one of the biggest curses that can befall an up-and-coming band. As such, a band from Manchester that uses synths is forever doomed to be called New Order's predecessors. Just like any Mancunian band that combines 3 guitarists and as many chords with bored, drawling vocals is as likely to be called the next Oasis and is subsequetnly doomed to failure. In many cases, comparisons like this are akin to saying that Kyle Lafferty must be like George Best because they're both Northern Irish.

As such, Delphic are a band who of course draw influence from New Order, who wouldn't, but ultimately end up creating with debut album Acolyte that was released in January sometime something that can stand up on its own two feet, proudly showcasing the bands ability to make brilliant dance/rock crossover music. Even though i've only had it on a few times, the one best thing that can be drawn from it is that singles Doubt and This Momentary, while both brilliant, are by no means the strongest on the album. When you hear the title track, a 9 minute long instrumental and you hear how it morphs from beginning to end, starting off small and quiet with the odd ping from the guitar and then it rushes up to a crescendo which will make you dance and wish it'll never end. Delphic seem to have gotten this dancing business down, as there's hardly a moment where you can't imagine yourself in a club somewhere with the filthy beats on offer pulsing through your veins.

Lyrically, it's not actually that bad for a dance album. Normally with a band who embrace the synthesiser so openly you'll get maybe two lines to a chorus repeated over and over, but that's not the case here. There's actually coherent sentences, and the crooning voice of.... the guy who sings sounds as homely as your wallpaper. It's nothing particularly distinctive, but it's not boring either. It's also a voice that can go well with either the dance or rock stuff, it transfers well and never sounds out of its depth.

A fairly short review this week, but Delphic are a band with no frills. They make a good tune, stuff that you can dance to and sing along to, and it's surely a candidate for album of the year.