Delphic: 'Acolyte'

Manchester has always boasted a vibrant musical scene, from ‘Madchester’ during the late 1980s and early 1990s and continuing through to Brit Pop. Bands which have blossomed from this setting have been The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Oasis, and New Order to name just a few. Now it would appear that Delphic, with their debut offering ‘Acolyte’, could well be placed to join the others in the pantheon of greatness. It is the last band in particular in the aforementioned list which holds the most relevance here. Delphic not only hail from Manchester, but are also being described as the new ‘New Order’.

As with New Order, Delphic marry dance floor electronics with indie rock. Countless bands have ventured into this messy fusion with disastrous effects. Fortunately, however, a few bands got it right and New Order were masters of this art. Thankfully, Delphic appear to be following in their footsteps. Better still, they have adopted New Orders sound and transferred it firmly into the twenty-first century.

The reason for their success is twofold. The first is simplicity. Indie bands who have tried to add an element of sophistication into their repertoire by adding synths and dance elements often try to be too sagacious and have failed miserably. It is no coincidence that the most successful products have been by dance acts, such as The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, and Underworld. By adding elements of the Indie genre into their acts they have ultimately succeeded purely because they have kept things simple and Delphic follow in the same mold as the latter.

Secondly, success is down to German producer, Ewan Pearson. This talented individual possesses great control of dance floor dynamics and understands how to build euphoric dance beats, releasing their full potential by the chorus. Acolyte starts on a high and the pace never really diminishes for the entire duration. The rush and melancholy contained within all good anthems are present here along with anodyne lyrics, tight harmonies, infectious tunes, glittering synths, scattering percussion and indie guitar rhythms. Most impressive of all is that vocals tend to take a back seat and beats and rhythms take centre stage.

It’s hard to keep an electronic album engaging for an entire LP however Delphic have managed to produce something that doesn’t drift into ‘background music’ territory. Highlights are ‘Doubt’ which is as pop as they really get; as well as the awesome ‘Red Light’ and title track ‘Acolyte’. It’s not the most adventurous album one will hear but they are not claiming to be so and despite the endless comparisons, they deserve to be classed as a good band in their own right.