Delays – Panic Attacks

Like a drug addict forever chasing the euphoria of that first blissful fix, Southampton’s Delays have never quite managed to recapture the kaleidoscopic brilliance of their first two singles, 2004’s Long Time Coming and Nearer Than Heaven.

It didn’t help that their second album, 2006’s You See Colours, was a madly-hyperactive affair, over-burdened with fussy electronic adornments rather than the ecstatic, La’s/Cocteau Twins-inspired jangle-pop melodies at which they previously excelled. It sold poorly, leading to a reversal of the usual music-biz trajectory: Delays were dropped by indie label Rough Trade, only to be picked up last year by major label Fiction, home of Snow Patrol.

Happily, for album three, Everything’s The Rush, the foursome have calmed down a bit and remembered that their strengths lie in glassy guitars and Byrds-style harmonies, not whooshy synths and frantic BPMs. It was recorded at producer Youth’s studio in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which is fast becoming the go-to destination for indie bands suffering a post-second album slump – it’s where The Futureheads recorded their current album This Is Not The World. There must be something in the mountain air, because both bands returned from their Spanish sojourn rejuvenated, with a creative spring in their step.

Delays’ new single Hooray is out 28 April, followed by Everything’s The Rush on 5 May.

In the meantime, Q4music.com users can download a free non-album track, Panic Attacks right here.

[Delays]