Delays
Faded Seaside Glamour
(Rough Trade)
Delays are one of the few bands you could listen to your whole life and never realize the singer is not a female. Greg Gilbert sounds like Melissa Etheridge’s pitch shifted up a register, and that’s a good thing. His castrato-inspired vocals define the band’s serotonin-driven, ethereal pop music. Like Elbow with the addition of helium and pot, their sound is delivered with a kind of smiling sadness. Truly great music, Faded Seaside Glamour is the most interesting album to come out in a while.
—Matt Charlton
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.