The Delgados - Hate
Hate, Mantra [2003]
They Formed 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, but the Delgados first met running the Scotland’s famous Chemikal Underground record label. Home to the legendary Scottish indie band Arab Strap, the label has proven to be fertile musical ground and important to the U.K. music scene in general. Take Belle & Sebastian, who owe much of their inspiration to Arab Strap, and even named an album after them (The Boy With the Arab Strap). With all of this music industry experience and friends in highland places, how could the Delgados go wrong? Their fourth full-length release, Hate is proof that they haven’t.
They’re a foursome: Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward both sing and play guitar, and the rhythm section consists of Paul Savage on drums and Stewart Henderson on bass. Their sound has been referred to as “Indie Adult Contemporary” (yuck! but I’ll get to that later). Without using such an off-putting label, you might accurately describe it as richly produced, moody, heavily orchestrated pop music. Emma Pollack sounds somewhat like an indie-fied Edie Brickell and it’s her songs that are the most interesting. A distinct Beatles comparison can be drawn to the music in general. The tracks tend to climax at the end ala “A Day in the Life” from Sgt. Pepper. In fact, the album’s title track is a twist on the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.” “All You Need is Hate” has a rousing melody, uplifting tempo and cheerful singing: “Hate is everywhere, look inside your heart and you’ll find it there.”
The writing credits are given to the entire band, something I feel is somewhat disingenuous. Let’s face it: One or two people ultimately write the songs, so why give the whole band credit? If you’re like me, knowing who wrote which song gives more insight into the music. There’s also a weird evens-stevens-ey manner to the arrangement of the tracks on the album that makes its flow a bit awkward. The vocalist alternates from Emma to Alun every other song. After getting a taste for Emma’s voice on a song like “Coming in From the Cold,” you may feel a bit let down by Alun’s comparatively plain singing on the next.
None of this seriously detracts from the record as a whole, especially if you’re the type that likes to listen to your music shuffled. Each of the twelve tracks is really good and the record would be a solid addition to anyone’s collection. As to the “Indie Adult Contemporary” label, I guess that aging indie rock fans, like me, are going to have to get used to our favorite music growing up with us. It’s eventually going to get labeled so that it can be played in car commercials and in shopping malls. At least we can rest assured that something we like will be played when it’s our turn for the old folk’s home.