Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
The Delgados refer to Universal Audio as their "long-awaited 'pop' album," and while the description is apt, it's their penchant for atmospheric, industrial town melancholia that ultimately wins out. In stark contrast to 2002's bombastic Dave Fridmann-produced Hate, Audio's sleek opener, "I Fought the Angels," begins with just a guitar and Emma Pollock's winsome vocals before launching into a tight Bossanova-era Pixies groove. Alun Woodward, always the reluctant optimist, follows with "Is That All I Came For?," a tale filled with doubt wrapped in a golden Beach Boys wonton -- a trick he honed to perfection on Hate's sunny and sarcastic title track -- but it's Pollock's instantly catchy and retro (as in 1992) "Everybody Come Down" that embodies the group's metamorphosis from brooding orchestral pop experimentalists into hook-driven purveyors of sunny road-trip modern rock. What's interesting about that single, as well as the bulk of Universal Audio, is that it's the simple omission of the excessive reverb that defined their two previous records that gives these new tracks their pop sheen. Cuts like "Bits of Bone" and "Girls of Valour" are harmony-laden confections of melodic complexity, and while they manage to fuse the angular melodicism of pre-Skylarking XTC with the pastoral city-kitsch of a band like Saint Etienne, there's still an undercurrent of wistful discontent that's distinctly Delgados. That air of predawn loneliness is best conveyed on Pollock's gorgeous ode to the love/hate relationship between artists and their hometown on "The City Consumes Us," a beautiful ballad that features one of Pollock's most devastating and affective vocal takes. Universal Audio is not a success upon first listen. Like all Delgados records, it takes repeated drives along the city outskirts to sink in, but when it does there's no going back, and the listener is rewarded once again with something rich, happily overcast, and strangely intangible.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
The Delgados, Composer, MainArtist - Chemikal Underground, MusicPublisher
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
Album review
The Delgados refer to Universal Audio as their "long-awaited 'pop' album," and while the description is apt, it's their penchant for atmospheric, industrial town melancholia that ultimately wins out. In stark contrast to 2002's bombastic Dave Fridmann-produced Hate, Audio's sleek opener, "I Fought the Angels," begins with just a guitar and Emma Pollock's winsome vocals before launching into a tight Bossanova-era Pixies groove. Alun Woodward, always the reluctant optimist, follows with "Is That All I Came For?," a tale filled with doubt wrapped in a golden Beach Boys wonton -- a trick he honed to perfection on Hate's sunny and sarcastic title track -- but it's Pollock's instantly catchy and retro (as in 1992) "Everybody Come Down" that embodies the group's metamorphosis from brooding orchestral pop experimentalists into hook-driven purveyors of sunny road-trip modern rock. What's interesting about that single, as well as the bulk of Universal Audio, is that it's the simple omission of the excessive reverb that defined their two previous records that gives these new tracks their pop sheen. Cuts like "Bits of Bone" and "Girls of Valour" are harmony-laden confections of melodic complexity, and while they manage to fuse the angular melodicism of pre-Skylarking XTC with the pastoral city-kitsch of a band like Saint Etienne, there's still an undercurrent of wistful discontent that's distinctly Delgados. That air of predawn loneliness is best conveyed on Pollock's gorgeous ode to the love/hate relationship between artists and their hometown on "The City Consumes Us," a beautiful ballad that features one of Pollock's most devastating and affective vocal takes. Universal Audio is not a success upon first listen. Like all Delgados records, it takes repeated drives along the city outskirts to sink in, but when it does there's no going back, and the listener is rewarded once again with something rich, happily overcast, and strangely intangible.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:40:42
- Main artists: The Delgados
- Composer: The Delgados
- Label: Chemikal Underground
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2004 Chemikal Underground 2004 Chemikal Underground
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.