The Delagados have been playing music since 1995. They have toured with Pavement, The Wedding Present, and Cornershop. John Peel (the legendary BBC radio man) recorded them. Their last record, Peloton, received accolades from the media and fans alike. The Great Eastern solidifies the experimentation with flute, strings and keyboards that the band attempted on Peloton.

The record, upon first listen, is a slow starter. “The Past That Suits You Best is an odd slow tune with a lopping drum loop. Even the next track, “Accused of Stealing”, begins quiet, yet earnest. A pregnant pause( a la Pet Sounds) is shattered by a percussive scrape and the drums, guitar, and bass drive the song home (with a flute taking over the melody). “American Trilogy” has Alan Woodward on vocals and exhibits the band’s stellar use of crescendo and decrescendo. The song bobs up and down. It revolves from vocals, piano, and a sloppy (and this is a good sloppy) beat to full blown strings and crunchy guitars on the chorus (not to mention Woodward’s vocals take it up a notch) and back again.

On “Thirteenth Gliding Principles”, the Delgados demonstrate why they are not just a Dave Fridmann (who did produce the record) orch pop record. The verses are sung by both Pollock and Woodward, each alternating their respective lyrics. Pollock asks a question, and Woodward makes a statement, but these are unrelated. It is a duet that has nothing do with telling a story (or what have you). The strings and drums quietly set a mood on the verse, while the chorus explodes with staccato-ed cello and heavy distortion guitars. As the song progresses, the drums pound, the guitar riffs seer, and the flute flutters up and down the scale. Pollock overtakes the vocals and the song is gutsy, confident…and ends as quickly as it began. If one example isn’t enough for you indie rock academics, check out the dynamics of “Witness.”

Light piano begins “No Danger,” a track with a melody that is immediately addictive. Woodward sings nearly acapella before the instruments join him. The song exhibits the slow swell of blissful indie rock the band has perfected. Again, they allow the instruments to drop out abruptly, and the piano and cello are alone. Then the hook brings back the rock. Unbelievable. By the end, it is an all out jam fest with driving guitars, strings, theremin, piano, and an extremely solid bass line.

Lyrically, the Delgados run through Smiths/Belle & Sebastian land: sad sacked love and a cynical life view. This is a good thing. “Accused of Stealing” has Emma Pollock taking the vocal lead that interacts marvelously with the indie rock guitar line. As the guitars drop out, a simple piano melody picks up as Pollock sings (as if rolling her eyes), “And you will feel appalled as you bare it all, and I don’t even know if I’ll be listening.” “I became accustomed to a kind of social servitude and no one, I mean no one, could accept what I had become”, are the opening lines Woodward sings on “American Trilogy.” Pollock sings, sadly but not dramatically distraught, of a broken relationship on “Witness”: “We spent our years dreaming but our dreams were misleading and now we’re through.” The delivery of each singer is dead on with the feeling of each song.