Delays

In the 1990s, when Oasis and Blur dominated a scene the siblings later rejected, Greg Gilbert on vocals and guitar, his brother Aaron Gilbert on keyboards, along with Rowley on drums and Colin Fox on bass, first attempted to earn a living through Brit-pop. The quartet launched Corky, whose acoustic pop enjoyed brief local success in Southampton, England. Corky dissolved by 2001, prompting the brothers to reconvene under the name Delays. Over subsequent years they cultivated sun-soaked, 1960s-inflected rock melodies while cultivating an affinity for Cocteau Twins-inspired keyboards and loops. Rough Trade’s Geoff Travis caught one of their private performances in 2003 and signed them; the label then issued two singles that year, sending “Hey Girl” into the U.K. Top 40.

Tour dates alongside the Thrills, Tim Burgess, and the Sleepy Jackson quickly earned Delays favor among indie critics on both sides of the Atlantic. “Long Time Coming” reached number 16 in January 2004, and the debut album Faded Seaside Glamour arrived later that year. Sounding rather like the Hollies meeting the La’s for a rainy Sunday drive while picking up the Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser for tea, the record performed strongly in England and cleared the path for the 2006 follow-up You See Colours. The band switched imprints once more before issuing Everything’s the Rush on Fiction/Polydor in 2008, then moved again in 2010 to release Star Tiger Star Ariel through Lookout Mountain Records. Guitarist and singer Greg Gilbert died of bowel cancer on September 30, 2021, at the age of 44.