It’s named after an Isambard Kingdom Brunel ship, but it sounds like one of his trains. Ornate, gargantuan, rusty at the joints, but still capable of thundering along with unstoppable might. It is the third Delgados album and it is, quite frankly, crushing.
With 1998’s Peloton, Glasgow’s Delgados stole the ‘shhh-children-we’re delicate/oh-my-fucking-Christ-my-eardrums-have-prolapsed!’ blueprint from Mogwai; etched arch, modestly beatific melodies over the top and bunged on a load of flutes. What little was wrong with it took the form of between-single racket-fests that had the phrase "indie shamblebottom" tattooed under their problem hair.
No such low points on "The Great Eastern". There are brass bands and choirs ("The Past That Suits You Best"), there are church bells ("Aye Today") and, in "No Danger" there is The Delgados first out-and-out, ra-ra skirted pop song - with no pneumatic drills or dog torturing on it at all.
"The Great Eastern" retains that essential prickliness, that Eau De Can’t Be Arsed, that Glasgow expects of its sonic experimentalists. But it still represents a treasure of a band stepping from the shadows, tossing its tatty indie rags aside, and charging at success, engine stoked to bursting. Last stop: your gut. [4.5/5]
Mark Beaumont
The Sunday Telegraph - 16th April, 2000
Three coruscating albums into their brilliant career, I can’t for the life of me work out why The Delgados aren’t yet a household name. Well, I suppose I can really. It’s because despite their knack for achingly gorgeous and potentially chart-busting melodies, the Glaswegian four-piece are just that little bit too clever, sleazy and downbeat for mainstream tastes. Which is good news for those of us who would prefer to keep their brand of folky, Velvet Underground-tinged bedsit indie rock a much-cherished secret. Then again, listening to tracks such as the awesome Thirteen Gliding Principles, I do get a nasty suspicion that it won’t be much longer before The Delgados are blaring from every radio in the land.
Esquire - May 2000
Shamefully dismissed as terminal indie underachievers, Scotland’s Delgados have finally made a truly exceptional record. Over enthralling percussive soundscapes, twin boy/ girl voices offer songs of gentle wisdom that negotiate deft switches in tempo and mood.
A delightful record that deserves an audience beyond their ghetto. [9/10]
Guitar Magazine - May 2000
PICK OF THE MONTH
Mining a rich seam of quirk lodged deep within the heart of pop mountain, the Glaswegians exploit the occasion of their third album to prove how fresh a little original thinking can sound within otherwise near-conventional song structures. From out'n'out tuneful to earthily psychedelic to utterly ethereal, so much of the beauty here crouches in their un-pindownability. Joyously relistenable.
The Daily Telegraph - 15th April, 2000
Afficionados will not be surprised to find this a difficult listen, even if they are unaware that the third album from this Scottish quartet is named after a hostel for Glasgow’s homeless and drug addicted. As they have shown in their daytime role as bosses of Chemikal Underground Records, the Delgados are nothing if not idiosyncratic. Tracks such as the orchestral American Trilogy and the opening The Past That Suits You Best, require several runs around the block before really getting under the skin.
There is something truly epic about much of the material, combining, as it does, indie-rock guitar licks with strings. On the other hand, fans of Mercury Rev - who, like The Delgados, have benefited from the services of indie producer du jour Dave Fridmann – will not be disappointed with the likes of Accused of Stealing which brilliantly showcases singer Emma Pollock’s folky vocals.
The album’s highlight, however, is undoubtedly No Danger – a stunning track sung by co-frontman Alun Woodward that - like Lou Reed’s Perfect Day - is no less beautiful for apparently being about heroin abuse.
Clark Collis
MAGNET (US) - June/July 2000
Meet The Delgados, the other "white meat" from Scotland. Why Glasgow's Belle And Sebastian, Arab Strap and Mogwai have scored big recently is anybody's guess; maybe the UK success of Teenage fanclub opened the floodgates. The Delgados take a back seat to none of them. Sure, it's early days, but if there's any trend in indie rock thus far in the '00s, it might be the number of artists successfully layering gorgeous melodies with noisy slabs of experimentation, recalling the glory days of the Jesus And Mary Chain. Like Jonathan Donahue (Mercury rev) or Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), The Delgados' Alun Woodward has limited vocal abilities, but he knows how to get the most out of his horsepower.
Weaving their spell in the fast lane while ducking rumbling 18-wheelers of noise, Woodward and Em,ma Pollock swap vocal leads on "Thirteen Gliding Principles" as effortlessly as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. The apex of The Delgados' art, "No Danger", finds Woodward croaking out a stirring refrain that borrows just enough from the melody line of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and the vocal style of Ray Davies to stand tall above the guitar blitzkreig howling around it.
Jud Cost