You See Colours | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 March 2006 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:08 | |||
Label | Rough Trade | |||
Producer | Graham Sutton | |||
Delays chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from You See Colours | ||||
|
You See Colours is the second studio album by British rock band Delays, released on 6 March 2006 through Rough Trade Records. The band released their debut studio album Faded Seaside Glamour in early 2004; by the year's end, they had composed 40 songs for its follow-up. Because the band's keyboardist Aaron Gilbert lost the only copies of their demos, lead singer Greg Gilbert decided to let the other members contribute to the writing. You See Colours was recorded at studios Real World, Rockfield, and Dustsucker Sound with producer Graham Sutton. Focusing on indie rock and pop songs, You See Colours spotlights Gilbert's vocals.
You See Colours received generally favourable reviews from critics, some of whom praised the musicianship. The album charted at number 24 in the UK Albums Chart, while its singles "Valentine" and "Hideaway" charted at number 23 and 35 in the UK Singles Chart, respectively. After Delays toured twice in the United Kingdom, in late 2005 and early 2006, "Valentine" was released as the lead single on 20 February 2006. After touring twice in the UK and playing festivals in Europe, "Hideaway" was released as the second single on 9 May 2006.
In April 2004, Delays released their debut studio album Faded Seaside Glamour , [1] which charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. All three of its singles; "Hey Girl", "Long Time Coming", and "Nearer Than Heaven"; reached the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Long Time Coming" peaking the highest at number 16. [2] In October 2004, the band embarked on a tour in the United Kingdom; one show saw them debut six new songs. [3] The non-album single "Lost in a Melody" was released in November 2004 and it peaked at number 28 in the UK Singles Chart. [2] [4]
At the end of 2004, singer Greg Gilbert said the band had 40 songs for their next album, which was expected for release in early 2005 under the name Action Reaction. [5] By April 2005, the album was reported to be due for release later in the year. [6] The band eventually accumulated 100 songs; keyboardist Aaron Gilbert lost the only copies on the band's demos, forcing Greg Gilbert to let the other members write songs for the band. [7] Delays then spent time in a rehearsal room near Millbrook, Southampton, writing material for their next album. [8] You See Colours was recorded at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, and Dustsucker Sound in Hackney, London, with producer Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis. The latter and Robbie Nelson acted as engineers, with Sutton mixing the recordings at Dustsucker. [9]
The music of You See Colours has been described as indie rock and pop. [10] [11] In contrast to the guitar-centered sound of Faded Seaside Glamour, You See Colours relies on pop songs and catchy melodies that highlight Gilbert's vocals. [11] Entertainment.ie described the album as "a flurry of Fleetwood Mac songs sung in the style of a teen Brett Anderson [from Suede] with an '80s twist". [12] Six of the album's tracks – "You and Me", "Valentine", "Too Much in Your Life", "Winter's Memory of Summer", "Lillian", and "Waste of Space" – were credited to both Greg and Aaron Gilbert, while the remainder were written solely by Greg Gilbert. The band had help with the arrangements of some of the songs from Trevor Horn ("Valentine"), Duncan Lewis ("Hideaway"), and Jon Kelly ("This Town's Religion" and "Given Time"). Sutton, who helped with some of the synthesizer arrangements, contributed to programming throughout the album. [9]
You See Colours opens with "You and Me", which features strings in the style of Sigur Rós. [13] [14] The song's synthesizer part sets the tone for the rest of the album, separating it from Faded Seaside Glamour and earning a comparison to the music of A-ha. The track concludes with 15 seconds of guitar feedback and bells. [15] Aaron Gilbert had written the string parts in a studio set-up he had in his room at Real World. Greg Gilbert asked for a copy of it and promptly wrote a chorus section. [16] It was the last song to be completed for the album, recorded at Rockfield. [17] [18] "Valentine" is a disco and electronica song whose lyrics were influenced by the band's experience of a hurricane while on tour in the United States. [14] [19] [20] The synthesizer line that opens the song gives way to dance-inspired drums and funk-like scratchy guitar parts. [15] The guitar parts in "This Town's Religion" recall those by U2; bassist Colin Fox referred to it as the "love child of the [Stone] Roses and U2". [14] [21]
"Sink Like a Stone", which Fox said is indebted to the La's, came together during soundchecks while on tour with Snow Patrol. [22] [23] "Too Much in Your Life" begins as rock-like track before shifting into a slow-paced tempo with soft guitar strums and drums. [15] Gilbert saw it as a lyrical companion to Faded Seaside Glamour track "Long Time Coming". [24] "Winter's Memory of Summer", which has jangly guitar work, evolved out of another song that had been heavily worked on. [25] [26] Its stadium sound evokes the tonality of Manic Street Preachers' album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998). [27] "Given Time" has a Pixies-indebted bass line and recalls the work of the La's. [28] [29] "Hideaway" is mostly an indie-rock song with 1980s vocal harmonies until, in its last minute, it becomes a psychedelic freakout. [10] The song was intended for Faded Seaside Glamour, but the band were unable to finish it at the time. [30] They had tried recording it, along with "Out of Nowhere", for an attempted album with Mike Hedges in 2001. [31] "Lillian", an indie track, is anchored by an electro background. [7] Fox described "Out of Nowhere" as "speeding across America" and "[s]oundtrackesque". [32] The album's closing track "Waste of Space" is a piano-driven song. [10]
In October 2005, Delays embarked on a tour in the United Kingdom and Ireland. [33] On 19 October 2005, You See Colours was announced for release in five months' time. In February and March 2006, the band toured the UK again, this time alongside Nightmare of You and Captain. [34] [35] Some of the dates were cancelled because Gilbert was suffering from a throat infection. [36] "Valentine" was released as the lead single on 20 February 2006; the seven-inch vinyl version includes "Talking Me Down". [37] [38] Two versions of the single were released on CD: the first with "Someday Soon You're Gonna Happen" and the second with "Shadows on Our School", a remix of "Valentine", and the music video for "Valentine" as B-sides. [39] [40] The video sees the band performing in front of a hurricane, a neon-lit city, and psychedelic imagery. [41]
Delays toured the US alongside Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads. [42] You See Colours was released on 6 March 2006 through Rough Trade Records. [14] Its cover depicts several layers of multi-coloured, tangled cables against a black background. [43] In Japan, the album was jointly released by Rough Trade and Reservoir Records; this version includes "Someday Soon You're Gonna Happen", "Shadows on Our School", "Talking Me Down", and the music video for "Valentine" as bonus tracks. [44] The band toured the UK before playing a series of festival shows across Europe, [36] including a performance at Wakestock. [45]
In August and September 2006, Delays appeared at V Festival, played in Mexico, and went on a UK tour. [46] [47] "Hideaway" was released as a single on 9 May 2006; the seven-inch vinyl version includes a cover of "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (1980) by John Lennon. [48] [49] Two versions of the single were released on CD: the first with "Broken Pylons" and the second with "Aglow Like Honey", a remix of "Valentine", and the music video for "Hideaway" as B-sides. [50] [51] In the music video for "Hideaway", the band drive around Miami, Florida, in a Ford Mustang. [52] The video was initially planned for "You and Me" but it was later changed to "Hideaway". [53]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100 [54] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Drowned in Sound | 6/10 [25] |
Gigwise | [14] |
God Is in the TV | 4/5 [15] |
musicOMH | [55] |
NME | 7/10 [56] |
The Observer | [57] |
PopMatters | 7/10 [28] |
Stylus Magazine | B [58] |
Yahoo! Launch | [59] |
Music critics gave You See Colours generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73 based on eight reviews. [54]
God Is in the TV writer Ross Fairhurst praised the production as being "absolutely superb" with its subtle layers of instrumentation. [15] Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine complimented the "fantastically produced" album, calling its sound "exquisite, futuristic and clean". [58] musicOMH contributor Jeremy Lloyd found You See Colours to be a "more coherent collection of songs" than Delay's debut album with "at least eight numbers here that would effortlessly sail into the upper echelons of the chart". [55] Gigwise 's Lee Glynn said it is a "surprisingly sound-uncompromising album", the band having crafted a release that is "mature enough to stand on its own rather than be weighed down by comparisons to their last offering". [14] AllMusic reviewer Sharon Mawer noted the album has "more numbers" in the vein of "Lost in a Melody" that have a "driving beat and a recognizable verse-chorus-verse that built to a crescendo and then musically fell off the edge, only to build again". [10]
The Observer editor Paul Mardles wrote You See Colours has an "electronic pulse that, though disconcerting on the first few listens, complements the group's trademark blissful harmonies". [57] In a review for NME , journalist Mark Beaumont noted that Gilbert had "sharpened his pop stiletto blade" since the band's first album. He added: "[n]o slack, no tack, no looking back: in career as in phosphorescent vocals, Delays soar above". [56] Yahoo! Launch 's James Marshall saw the album as a "delicious pop confection". [59] PopMatters writer Ian Cohen said the album's "high points" create "an unattainable standard for the rest of the album", causing it to feel a "bit unbalanced". [28] Tom Edwards of Drowned in Sound said the band had "found themselves at a loose end", adding they should be praised for "meeting this challenge head on". He called it "such a strong façade ... that it's only after a few listens that you realise it's not much more than a confidence trick". [25]
You See Colours peaked at number 24 in the UK Albums chart. The album's singles, "Valentine" and "Hideaway", charted at number 23 and number 35 in the UK Singles Charts, respectively. [2] Obscure Sound ranked the album at number 50 on their list of the best albums of 2006. [11] Stylus included "Valentine" at number five on their list of the year's 50 best singles. [60]
Credits adapted from the booklet of You See Colours. All songs produced by Graham Sutton. [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "You and Me" |
| 4:43 |
2. | "Valentine" |
| 4:52 |
3. | "This Town's Religion" | G. Gilbert | 3:08 |
4. | "Sink Like a Stone" | G. Gilbert | 3:05 |
5. | "Too Much in Your Life" |
| 4:38 |
6. | "Winter's Memory of Summer" |
| 3:10 |
7. | "Given Time" | G. Gilbert | 3:00 |
8. | "Hideaway" (Ends at ?, a short instrumental hidden track follows) | G. Gilbert | 3:48 |
9. | "Lillian" |
| 3:01 |
10. | "Out of Nowhere" | G. Gilbert | 2:46 |
11. | "Waste of Space" |
| 3:57 |
Total length: | 40:08 |
Credits adapted from the booklet of You See Colours. [9]
Delays
Additional musicians
| Production and design
|
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC) [61] | 24 |
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire and cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore. They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.
Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.
The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning. After going through a number of short-term bassists and drummers in their early days, both Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. joined the band in 2002. The band's name is derived from a logo on the bass drum of a fictitious band portrayed in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".
Up at the Lake is the eighth album by the British alternative rock band The Charlatans, released on 17 May 2004 through Universal and Island Records Group. As promotion wrapped up for their seventh album, Wonderland (2001), Universal wanted them to follow it up with another one quickly. However, frontman Tim Burgess began working on his debut solo album in late 2002. At the end of the year, the band reconvened to write songs; by March 2003, they relocated to their own studio, Big Mushroom, in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, with them and James Spencer serving as producers. Recording halted in May 2003 to allow for Burgess to finish his album, I Believe (2003); sessions would resume by the end of the year and finish in February 2004. Up at the Lake is a pop rock album that pursues the country rock direction that they had first explored on their sixth album, Tellin' Stories (1997).
Delays are an English indie band formed in Southampton, which consisted of brothers Greg Gilbert and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly until Greg Gilbert's death in 2021. The band's sound combines guitar and synths and featured Greg Gilbert's distinctive falsetto lead vocals. They have released four albums to date, the first three of which made the Top 30 in the UK Albums Chart.
Magic and Medicine is the second studio album by English rock band the Coral. It was released on 28 July 2003, through Deltasonic. Within three months of releasing their self-titled debut studio album, the band began recording material for their next album in October 2002. Sessions were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie, with co-production from the Coral; recording continued in-between tours of the United States and Europe, finishing in April 2003. Described as a pop rock and psychedelic pop release, Magic and Medicine was compared to the work of the Animals, with frontman James Skelly's vocals recalling that band's frontman Eric Burdon.
Out of Nothing is the fourth studio album by English rock band Embrace. It was released on 13 September 2004 through the label Independiente. Following the release of their third studio album If You've Never Been (2001), the band were dropped by Hut Records; around this time, the general public had lost interest in them. After signing to Independiente, they took time working on new material, until early 2004, when they recorded their next album at Olympic Studios in London with producer Martin "Youth" Glover. Out of Nothing is an indie rock album that drew comparison to the works of Coldplay and Keane.
Witching Hour is the third studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron, released on 3 October 2005 through Island Records internationally and Rykodisc in the United States. The album was promoted by four singles: "Sugar", "Destroy Everything You Touch", "Weekend" and "Soft Power".
Faded Seaside Glamour is the debut studio album by English rock band Delays, released on 5 April 2004 through Rough Trade Records. After the end of their previous band Corky, the members formed Delays; lead singer Greg Gilbert recruited his brother Aaron, a keyboardist, into the band after hearing him play a loop. The band signed to Rough Trade Records after its founder Geoff Travis saw them perform live. Delays recorded the album in three months with producers Duncan Lewis and Graham Sutton at Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Dustsucker Sound in Hackney, London, and Moles Studio in Bath, Somerset. Faded Seaside Glamour is an indie pop and dream pop album that has been compared to the works of Cocteau Twins, Geneva and The La's, and Greg Gilbert's vocals have been compared to those of Stevie Nicks and Elizabeth Fraser.
Wonderland is the seventh album by British rock band the Charlatans, released on 10 September 2001 through Universal. Following promotional efforts for their sixth studio album, Us and Us Only, vocalist Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins wrote new material at the former's house in Los Angeles, California. Cocaine would have an impact on the writing and, later on, recording; sessions were held at producer Danny Saber's house studio, Krevorkian's Lab, also in Los Angeles. The band worked with him for seven weeks in October 2000, only completing five tracks, and later went to their own studio, Big Mushroom in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, in early 2001. Wonderland is a funk-soul and electronica record, evoking the work of John Mellencamp, Oasis, and Primal Scream. Burgess remarked that Los Angeles itself became a member of the band; critics referred to it as a drug-enhanced party album. He employed a falsetto in the vein of Curtis Mayfield and Kurt Wagner.
The Rifles are an English indie rock band from Chingford, London.
The Fratellis are a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, formed in 2005. The band consists of three unrelated members, who perform under pseudonyms: lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli, bassist Barry Fratelli, and drummer Mince Fratelli. Their debut album, Costello Music (2006) was a success, peaking at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and spending eighty-three weeks in the UK Top 100. In the United States, it peaked at forty-eight on the US Billboard 200.
Gallows are an English hardcore punk band from Watford, Hertfordshire. The band was formed in 2005 after Laurent Barnard's previous band disbanded. Gallows' debut album, Orchestra of Wolves, was distributed in the United States by Epitaph Records. The band were subsequently signed to Warner Bros. Records for a £1 million album contract, and released their second album Grey Britain in 2009. The band has been particularly successful in the UK, with two songs charting on the UK Single Charts, and have been featured in magazines such as Kerrang!, Alternative Press and Rolling Stone.
Everything's the Rush is the third studio album by British rock band Delays. It was released on 5 May 2008 through Fiction and Polydor Records. As touring in promotion for their second studio album You See Colours wrapped up in 2006, the band decamped to Space Mountain in Spain with producer Martin "Youth" Glover to work on its follow up. After recording one song at Mayfair Studios in London, recording concluded after 20 days in total. Everything's the Rush is an indie pop album that recalls the sound of their debut studio album Faded Seaside Glamour (2004), with the addition of orchestral elements.
St. Jude is the debut studio album by English rock band the Courteeners, released on 7 April 2008 by Polydor Records. There is also a special edition album which includes a second disc of acoustic versions of songs which feature on the actual album. Although the album was released to mixed reviews from critics, it has become a somewhat cult success though many fans are more favorable to the versions of songs seen on Here Come the Young Men EP and various other demos. In support of the album the band embarked on a European tour.
Star Tiger Star Ariel is the fourth studio album by English rock band Delays. The album was released on 21 June 2010 through Lookout Mountain Records. Less than a year after the release of their third studio album Everything's the Rush, the band left Fiction Records in early 2009. Around this time, they were demoing material for its follow-up. In September 2009, they recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales and NAM Studios in Holt, with Duncan Lewis, Tom Dalgety and the band acting as producers.
m b v is the third studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, self-released on 2 February 2013. Produced by the band's vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields, m b v was the band's first full-length release of original material since Loveless (1991), over two decades earlier.
Declan Benedict McKenna is an English singer-songwriter. He initially gained recognition for winning the Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition in 2015. McKenna self-released the song "Brazil", a protest song criticising FIFA and the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil, as his debut single in December 2015. The song reached number one on Sirius XM Radio's Alt Nation Alt 18 Countdown for 23 January 2016 and held that spot for three weeks. The song also reached number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut studio album, What Do You Think About the Car?, in 2017. McKenna released his second studio album, Zeros, in September 2020, after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He released his third album, What Happened to the Beach?, in February 2024.
Bullet for My Valentine is the seventh studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. Originally scheduled for release on 22 October 2021, it was released on 5 November 2021 through Spinefarm Records and was produced by Carl Bown.
Greig Francis "Greg" Gilbert was a British musician, singer, songwriter, visual artist and poet. He was best known as the lead singer and guitarist of indie band Delays. One of the band's defining characteristics was Gilbert's wide vocal range; the regular use of his upper register became Gilbert's trademark singing style. His vocals were often compared to those of Elizabeth Fraser and Stevie Nicks.