The Great Eastern

The third LP from The Delgados is their finest yet as their beautiful vision of sweeping strings, chiming guitars, melancholic melodies and glorious harmonies becomes fully realised.

Opener, 'The Past That Suits You Best' is mesmerising, Alun and Emma's vocals intertwining with gorgeous fragility. The music, meanwhile, glides along with an easy charm not a million miles away from the otherworldly serenity of Mercury Rev.

'Accused Of Stealing' starts like an extract from the Marquis de Sade - "Tell me your confessions, let me be the ears for all your sins", sings Emma - while the music belies the dark subject matter and is as fluffy and bouncy as Bambi in spring. The themes throughout aren't exactly high on the happy side, though, 'Knowing When To Run' in particular making this listener feel guilty about enjoying the song so much.

'American Trilogy' and 'Witness' hint at a country leaning; 'Aye Today' beguiles; and 'Reasons For Silence (Ed's Song)' is as saccharine as an overdose of penny sweets, leaving you to wonder why their slightly skewed pop sensibility hasn't made household names of these multi-talented Glaswegians.

From start to finish, The Great Eastern finds The Delgados painting on a broader canvas than previous outings, which could be due to the presence of Dave Fridmann (whose previous credits include The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and label-mates Mogwai) behind the production and mixing desk. That's not to take away from the band themselves, though, who have produced an incandescent, multi-layered masterpiece that is simply stunning. The Great Eastern begs to be listened to, again and again.