This fresh-faced Mancunian combo - a studio trio augmented when gigging by drummer Dan Hadley – has been tipped as one of the bands of the year, having come third in the recent BBC Sound of 2010 poll, won in 2008 by Adele and in 2009 by Little Boots. Onstage at the Tabernacle, they put on a show that had plenty of dazzle, got fans dancing and had a fair share of catchy melodies. But there was something strangely clinical about it.
Everything about Delphic screams retro louder than a pair of dayglo loon pants. If fellow music press favourites Editors summoned up the spirit of Joy Division's Ian Curtis on their single “Papillon”, Delphic’s “Doubt” channels New Order, with James Cook clutching the microphone and cosying up to it like Bernard Sumner, while jabbing and stabbing at his bass like Peter Hook. Elsewhere the spirit of Hot Chip hangs over keyboardist Rick Boardman’s jerky electro-rhythms and hunched dancing. They do look good though, despite boffin tendencies. Cook is no shrinking violet, moodily running his fingers through his quiff whenever he hits an anguished note.
This is essentially live music to dance to and they deliver it very well. It is just not particularly deep. Despite coming across as impressively pretentious in interviews and namedropping film directors such as Tarkovsky and artists such as Rothko, lyrically Delphic are not much to write home about. Mundane phrases, such as "Let’s do something real" on “This Momentary” are repeated without any real meaning or emotion poking through.
There is no mid-show banter. Instead the songs seamlessly segue into each other. They did, however, do much more than merely replicate their debut album Acolyte (their single word titles, with tracks including “Halcyon” and “Counterpoint” are very Factory Records). Guitarist Matt Cocksedge is an interesting blend of overgrown speccy schoolboy and closet axe hero. I bet he has U2 albums lurking at the back of his wardrobe. And Cook has a decent vocal range, from that understated Sumneresque simper to a higher pitched delivery redolent of The Cure's Robert Smith trying to be soulful.
Ultimately though, Delphic's real talent is blending a lot of old things together into a tasty package. And don’t knock it. The same could be said for Duffy, Adele and various other credible performers that have taken root in recent years. On the other hand it feels slightly rough justice that acts who did something more interesting with the dance-rock crossover, Bloc Party, for instance, gathered critical plaudits but failed to become major players.
But maybe Delphic know what they are doing. They may not be party animals like the Gallaghers, but perhaps they are the Oasis of post-Orbital-electro-indie-rave, smoothing out the rough edges of a genre and taking it to a higher, more mainstream level. They will certainly thrive on the festival circuit this summer. Delphic are good and may even get their own slot on The One Show one day. But are they doing something very new? I think I can safely say no without consulting an oracle.
Delphic will be touring in March.
Video of Delphic's "Alterstate""
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