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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightenment, 28 Jan 2002
I was a confused man. I owned "The Great Eastern" and "Domestiques", but couldn't for the life of me see how they could be by the same band. Fine albums both, of course, but they had about as much in common as grass and bacon.But then I got "Peloton", and it all became clear. The learning process that took the Delgados (surely one of Britain's most underated acts?) from one extreme to the other unfolds before your very eyes. The opening tracks are particularly good examples - in "The Arcane Model" and especially "Everything Goes Around the Water", there is a fusion of the serated-edged pub rock of "Domestiques" with the odd tinge of velvety smoothness of their later (and probably best) music. It's genius, pure genius. "Domestiques" I can take or leave, but "Peloton" is one of those albums you MUST own (especially if you are, like me, a new convert who wants to learn more). All you could want is here - Emma Pollock's smooth, tuneful tones on "The Actress" and "Pull the Wires from the Wall" are magical, whilst the steady rock melody of "Russian Orthodox" is one where you need to whack the volume up high and get your flatmate complaining. The central, developing chapter in the history of a very very talented pop group.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm out (but not by miles), 31 Jan 2001
One of THE LPs of the late '90s. After the splendid opening track Everything Goes Around In The Water, you can't imagine the delgados will be able to maintain the standard throughout. That they not only manage this, but at times raise it, is testament to their very special, individual talent. Other highlights include the plainly marvellous Pull The Wires From The Wall, and Russian Orthodox, which sounds like a thrilling collision between Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Do you need any greater recommendation?
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
it really is bloody marvelous. nuff said., 11 Oct 2000
The Delgados seem to have a thing about openings; namely, the first five or ten seconds of their albums tend to not be very good. The rest, however is. Very good, that is.This was their second album, and despite the band having since said that they didn't put all their energy into their earlier records, it really is bloody marvelous. It does the quiet, lo-fi folky thing, then it does the heavy indie rock thing, then it does things which don't fit into any categories; take the killer couplet of the lushly melodic 'Pull the Wires From the Wall' and the downright mental 'Repeat Failure' which sounds like My Bloody Valentine massacring Belle and Sebastian, as heard over a knackered short-wave radio. It's really good. 'Russian Orthodox' is even heavier, while the quieter tracks (generally those with the longer titles) pull off the almost impossible feat of sounding as good as the loud ones. Guitar pyrotechnics aside, there's nothing here to justify any reputation for whimsy The Delgados might have earned by daring to be both Scottish and use acoustic guitars sometimes. The lyrics are as biting as ever; Emma Pollock's voice, more versatile than Alun Woodward's, ranges from softly-softly to cutting with a metallic edge. Alun Woodward still sings like a big wuss, but in a good way. The Sonic Youth comparisons (see above!) aren't far off, although anyone who says the Sonics can't sing clearly hasn't listened to many of their records. But they do have the Sonics' sheer bloody-mindedness and complete unwillingness to adhere; where they differ is that while Sonic Youth seem to exist in their own re-tuned world, the Delgados work their magic in a (generally) more conventional framework; actually if there's another band which most resembles the Delgados, I'd say it would be Pavement, only without so much of the irony thing. Anyway this is really good album, so I suggest you don't waste your money on the next Travis record or whatever, and listen to something with both heart, soul, and it's own ideas.
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