Delgados: Hate
It’s strange how some things can completely escape your notice. As a fan of ambitious, dramatic rock albums I was utterly unaware of the Delgados until it was too late. They have already decided to stop recording and touring and are instead now concentrating on their record label Chemikal Underground and solo projects; it was not until hearing the opening theme to the anime series Gunslinger Girl that I began to realise the existence of their impressive back catalogue.
The song in question, The Light Before We Land, is a wistful opening to not only an emotionally powerful TV show but to the Hate album itself. Starting with an innocent-sounding orchestral line and vocal harmonies it bursts spectacularly into life with seismic, distorted drums that give a convincing imitation of your speakers being subjected to all-out sonic meltdown. This is juxtaposed with Emma Pollock’s plaintive lyrics and jangling guitars that owe more to Scottish folk than the epic Mercury Rev-esque musical arrangements. Terms such as ‘epic’ and ‘dramatic’ are a pretty fair summary of how Hate sounds: while it is easy to attribute this to the fact that long-time Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips collaborator Dave Fridmann took on role as producer it is reputed that the songs were already almost finished before he added his own trademark polish.
It is not just the string sections and crashing drums that make Hate such a breathtaking album either: the sharp and eloquent lyrics such as those of the following track, All You Need is Hate, delivered with heavy irony by Alun Woodward, set the Delgados aside from their contemporaries. The pitch-black humour of the lyrics hints at the numerous bad times that the band suffered but there is much tenderness and beauty as well as the feelings of melancholy.
Woke From Dreaming is spattered with tinkling piano lines and shimmers with fragility; the introspection is carried over into the soaring The Drowning years. Just when it seems that the album threatens to swamp the listener in dark despair, Coming In From the Cold is as its name suggests a ray of brightness and warmth in the midst of pessimism as Emma’s words of comparative carefree joy help it create another high point on the album.
The presence of uplifting moments in the overall downbeat vibe as well as the lyrical talent on show here are what give Hate such emotional depth - even when things take a darker turn with Child Killers you end up feeling a whole range of emotions. Favours is another instalment of Emma’s ethereal vocals rising over a storm of crunching drums before Alun once again brings in some profound moments in All Rise that also exhibits the skill that the band have with the ‘loud/quiet/loud’ approach to song performance. Never Look at the Sun is a somewhat slower number performed with deliberation and the album’s trademark sobriety before the majestic If This Is a Plan includes some startlingly sharp and honest songwriting before ending the record on a bittersweet yet hopeful note.
In Summary
Such expansive and experimental records often come across as being self-indulgent or inaccessible, yet the Delgados have somehow sidestepped the pitfalls and have brought us something that is deeper, darker and more rewarding than their earnest and punky early years. Hate might not ‘rock’ in the same way but it delivers an even more powerful emotional punch that anyone who appreciates brave and beautiful music should not do without. It might be too late to appreciate them as a live band but this could the Delgados’ most worthwhile legacy.
Tracklisting
- The Light Before We Land
- All You Need is Hate
- Woke From Dreaming
- The Drowning Years
- Coming in from the Cold
- Child Killers
- Favours
- All Rise
- Never Look at the Sun
- If This is a Plan
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