Delgados - Universal Audio (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Their Best

music fan | Maryland | 11/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really like the Delgados, but initially, I didn't like Universal Audio. It sounded bare compared to their traditional sound, and the songs were more sugary than I expected. After repeated listening, however, the album grew on me. The melodies sound more basic but there is a great deal of subtlety in the songs. The strings are gone, but the Delgados texture their songs brilliantly even without them. I especially like what they did with the vocals.

There is great variety in this album and all of the songs are great. Although I love the moody feel of Albums like Hate and Great Eastern and the great melodies of Peloton, Universal Audio is the best collection of Delgados songs thus far."

Great Scots

Alf0d | Birmingham, England | 12/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since I heard Everything Goes Around the Water on a freebie cd from Select Magazine (RIP) i've been a massive fan of this truly indie Scottish group (they run the Chemikal Underground label). Pixies-esque on their first LP, Domestiques they've embraced many musical styles over the span of their excellent five albums (this is the fifth).

The fourth, Hate, saw them immerse themselves in epic orchestrations but, while final track Now and Forever harks back to Hate, this is by and large The Delgados at their most poppy and upbeat. Fellow Scots Belle & Sebastian had a similar Eighties-esque makeover on their last album with equally impressive results. Surely fellow vanguards of the "new Scottish gentry" Franz Ferdinand sang about on their debut, it's about time this group got the acclaim and sales they deserve.

This is the kind of album the phrase "all killers no fillers" was made for, but if I had to pick an absolute favourite track it'd be Everybody Come Down. Fan. Tas. Tic."

Can't stop listening to it

G. Phipps | Seattle | 11/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Universal Audio is their masterpiece. I've been a fan since Peleton and have all their albums, so I think I have a bit of perspective. Oddly enough, even though the sound is stripped down from Hate, there so much happening sonically in each song that I unearth new sounds every time I listen. Universal Audio is so good that I can't listen to anything else. It truly bears repeated listening. Album of the year, definitely. Do yourself a favor and get this immediately. Highlights: The City Consumes Us, Sink or Swim, Bits of Bone, Girls of Valour, Keep on Breathing, Now and Forever, Come Undone. It's all good. I get chills when I listen to it."

Hooked....line and sinker.

D. Mower | Utah, USA | 11/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here's an LOL for you. I liken The Delgados in general to foreign foods. Say, for example, that you have never had sushi, and one day your friend approaches you and says, "Hey, come and eat this raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed." Not the most appealing dish in the world. But you decide to try it anyway. You don't like it all that much, but you tell your friend it was good, just so he doesn't get his feelings hurt.

Then, a couple weeks later, you get this weird craving...for sushi. So you go try some, and WALLAH! It's delicious...how weird is that? Suddenly what was barely palatable has become a delicacy that you can't get enough of.

The Delgados are an interesting musical phenomenon for me. My initial reaction to their music was "interesting, but...I dunno". Slowly but surely, song by song, the true genius of this album and this band in general crept into my psyche. Now I can't listen to them without thinking about how freaking amazing their music is.

It's the exact opposite process of most popular music today. I hear a song on the radio and think, "Wow, what a cool song!" Then after listening to it for a week, I can't stand it anymore. It's a little disheartening to think that recycled pop music crap can be so universally lauded when there are bands like The Delgados out there trying to show us what real talent is. On the other hand, the feeling of eliteness that comes when you discover a hidden jewel like this album is fun, too.

Universal Audio just goes to prove that The Delgados are (or should I say "were") one of the most dynamic bands out there. In this album, their guitars are no longer accompanied by ecstatic strings and symphonic crash...and yet, somehow, this album is just as monumental and probably even more solid than their previous. Enough rock pop influence to get your toes immediately tapping, but erratic and "indie" enough to require some effort to appreciate.

And trust me, it is worth the effort."

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