The Delgados

The Delgados never matched the critical prestige or fervent following granted to fellow Scots Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai, yet they formed the genuine core of Scotland’s modern pop resurgence. Via their own Chemikal Underground imprint the quartet advanced the trajectories of artists from Bis through Arab Strap, while their catalog itself delivered some of the most exquisite pop moments of the era, progressing from the rudimentary fidelity of their first efforts to a grander sonic range marked by deeply affecting melodies, expansive string writing, and elaborate rhythms in waltz time. School-era companions Alun Woodward on vocals and guitar, Stewart Henderson on bass, and Paul Savage on drums initially played together in Bubblegum before regrouping as the Delgados—named for Spanish cycling champion Pedro Delgado—in 1994. Vocalist and guitarist Emma Pollock rounded out the quartet; after establishing Chemikal Underground they issued their opening single, “Monica Webster,” in February 1995, which Melody Maker immediately named Single of the Week. The label’s follow-up was Bis’s “Disco Nation,” succeeded by Arab Strap’s underground staple “The First Big Weekend” and Mogwai’s debut album Mogwai Young Team.

Following the Lazarwalker EP on Radar, the Delgados returned to Chemikal Underground with the 1996 single “Cinecentre.” “Under Canvas Under Wraps” and “Sucrose” appeared next, accompanied by a U.K. tour supporting Elastica, before their debut album Domestiques arrived in October. Its near-universal acclaim prompted BBC tastemaker John Peel to declare the Delgados “the best in Britain.” Another Melody Maker and NME Single of the Week, the luminous “Everything Goes Around the Water,” announced the 1998 follow-up Peloton. Its second single, the spectral “Pull the Wires From the Wall,” later topped Peel’s year-end Festive Fifty chart. Recording for a third album began that September; prolonged sessions eventually placed the tapes in the hands of producer Dave Fridmann, renowned for his work on the Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin. The resulting 2000 release, The Great Eastern, ranked among the year’s most striking records—a sweeping, densely layered triumph far removed from the band’s earlier ragged noise-pop. In March 2001 the group performed an original score for a film drawn from painter Joe Coleman’s work at London’s Barbican Centre. Their subsequent album, Hate, again produced by Fridmann, surfaced in early 2002. In 2004 they issued Universal Audio, a concise, tuneful, and at times bright pop set that moved away from the orchestral approach of the two Fridmann collaborations.