The Delgados have spent their previous couple of albums trying to "do a Mercury Rev", even going so far as to hire the Rev collaborator Dave Fridmann as producer. With Universal Audio, however, they have a simpler aim: to make a straightforward pop album. This is typified by Everybody Come Down, a happy, infectious sing-along not a million miles from the Cardigans. Not that Universal Audio marks a complete break with the past. While Emma Pollock's songs embrace the new pop ethic wholeheartedly, co-front person Alun Woodward still occasionally hankers after something a little grander - as in the rich melodic sweep (and big reverb) of Is This All That I Came For? This contrast between the two songwriters' styles gives the album a rather pleasing variety.
Chemikal Underground