Faded Seaside Glamour

Vocalist and guitarist Greg Gilbert, bassist Colin Fox and drummer Rowly performed as the Britpop act Corky. Though they attracted some attention in their hometown Southampton, they ultimately broke up in 2001. That same year, the trio regrouped under the name Delays, taking influence from 1960s rock, as well as the keyboard work of the Cocteau Twins.[1] They burned CD samplers, which were sent to potential labels, that consisted of "Nearer Than Heaven", "You Wear the Sun" and "Zero Zero One".[2][3] They tried recording their debut album with Mike Hedges in mid-2001, which was ultimately scrapped.[4]

Gilbert's brother Aaron, a keyboardist, was heavily into techno music; he created a loop of what would become the song "Wanderlust".[5] Greg played along to it, which marked Aaron's introduction to the band.[5] Geoff Travis, the founder of Rough Trade Records, saw the band live; he was impressed by the sound and promptly signed them.[1] The band gave the label a five-song acoustic demo, which featured "Hey Girl", "Satellites Lost", "Wherever You Fall I Die", "Overlover" and "Hideaway".[6] They slowly started touring with the likes of Tim Burgess of the Charlatans, the Sleepy Jackson and the Thrills, which earned attracted them critics from Europe and the United States.[1]

Faded Seaside Glamour was recorded across three months; by this point, Aaron Gilbert had been a member for only a few months.[5] Duncan Lewis and the band produced "Wanderlust", "Nearer Than Heaven", "You Wear the Sun", "Hey Girl", "There's Water Here", "Satellites Lost" and "One Night Away", which were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth with engineer Phil Ault. "Bedroom Scene" and "On" were recorded at Dustsucker Sound, while "Long Time Coming", "No Ending" and "Stay Where You Are" were recorded at Moles Studio in Bath. Graham Sutton produced and engineered those tracks; Paul Corkett also engineered "Long Time Coming", "No Ending" and "Stay Where You Are". Sutton then mixed the recordings at Dustsucker Sound.[7]

Tim Den of Lollipop Magazine described the title of Faded Seaside Glamour as an "abandoned boardwalk" that "still soaks up and reflects the summer sun, but is no longer the vibrant, cherished locale showered with people’s love".[8] Gilbert said it went under the working title Take Some Home with You as they were "all telling people to 'take some (flyers) home with you' after the gigs".[9] Greg Gilbert said another title they had was Our True Intent Is All for Your Delight, which is a reference to a book of photography by John Hinde.[10] The album is an indie pop and dream pop album,[11][12] which evokes the sound of Geneva,[13][14][15] Cocteau Twins and the La's, with elements of the Byrds and the Hollies.[16] AllMusic reviewer MacKenzie Wilson said Gilbert provides a "lamblike falsetto, an intriguing arrangement that's both gentle and slightly unrefined", while Pitchfork contributor Stephen M. Deusner compared it to a "less abrasive Billy Corgan [of the Smashing Pumpkins] or a less earthy Mike Scott [of the Waterboys]".[17][18] Some reviewers referred to Gilbert as the male version of Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac,[19][20][21] or Cocteau Twins frontwoman Elizabeth Fraser.[21][22][23][24]

The opening track "Wanderlust" follows a Stone Roses-lite groove and is anchored around calypso-esque steel drums, with both Greg and Aaron Gilbert doing vocal harmonies.[22][25][26] "Nearer Than Heaven" consists of walls of guitars and echo, and is in the style of Geneva.[26][27] When Greg Gilbert originally wrote it in 1998, he thought it dealt with Catholic guilt, "now I think it’s about finding the transcendent in everyday life".[28][29] The chorus section and vocal melody heard in "Long Time Coming" recalled the latter-day work of the Waterboys, and sees Gilbert singing in a slightly rougher tone than the rest of the album.[18][27] Aaron Gilbert came up with the synth part from a dream he had, which he tried to emulating as a creaking door sound.[30] The band wrote the song in their the Gilberts' parents house; Greg Gilbert said it was about their friend Steve who had died in a car crash in 2003.[31][32]

Gilbert wrote the lyrics to "Bedroom Scene" while in a field located close to his parents' house, while its melody was borrowed from a song by the Smiths.[33] It evokes "Rhiannon" (1976) by Fleetwood Mac due to its melancholy atmosphere; its muted piano saw comparison to U2 and their album War (1983), and the palm muted guitar parts to Mike and the Mechanics.[18][34][35] The song was initially intended to be a B-side, until the band liked how the track sounded during recording.[36] Aaron Gilbert often played the piano section when the rest of the band were preparing to rehearse, it eventually evolved into a song when the other members began playing along to it.[37] "No Ending" sees Greg Gilbert emulating the vocal style of Brett Anderson from Suede as it apes the work of Big Star and Jeff Buckley.[25][38] Greg Gilbert said the song was inspired by Michael Head and his previous band Shack.[39]

The guitar pop song "You Wear the Sun" was also intended as a B-side.[25][40] "Hey Girl" is reminiscent of the work of the Byrds and "There She Goes" (1988) by the La's.[16][41] "Stay Where You Are" toys with funk, with elements of the sound of the Cure and electronic music, and is followed by two acoustic ballads, "There's Water Here" and "Satellites Lost".[25][38][42] Gilbert said "There's Water Here" acted as a companion to "Wanderlust", highlighting the guitar riff and its lyrics as being related.[43] "Satellites Lost" tackles Gilbert's anxiety about travelling.[44] The Travis-lite "One Night Away" was written in Edinburgh while listening to Big Star.[45][46] The album concludes with the neo-psychedelic gospel track "On", which was referred to the band's own iteration of "I Am the Resurrection" (1989) by the Stone Roses.[17][26] Greg Gilbert said they wanted a counterpoint to the opening to "Wanderlust"; Aaron Gilbert came up with what his brother described as the "sound of ships leaving the harbour, filling out the album concept".[47]

"Nearer Than Heaven" was released as a single on 7 April 2003; it featured "Way Smooth" and "Over and Out".[48][49] The music video for "Nearer Than Heaven" featured the members' friends in New Forest national park plugging headphones into the soil and nearby trees.[50] The following month, they embarked on a tour of the UK with Clearlake.[51]"Hey Girl" was released as a single on 21 July 2003.[52] Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Zero Zero One" and "Overlover", while the other included "Whenever You Fall I Die" and the music video for "Hey Girl".[53][54] It was promoted with a tour of the UK with Easyworld.[55] "Long Time Coming" was released as a single on 19 January 2004.[56] The CD version included "Chicago", the 7-inch vinyl edition featured "Hand Me Downs", and the DVD version included "Hand Me Downs", "Swallowing the Silence" and the music video for "Long Time Coming".[57][58][59] On 8 February 2004, the band performed at the London Astoria as part of a special NME Awards show.[56]

"Nearer Than Heaven" was reissued on 22 March 2004.[60] The CD version included "Quiet" and a live version of "Long Time Coming", the 7-inch vinyl edition featured a demo of "Whenever You Fall I Die", and the DVD version included "Way Smooth", a demo of "Over and Out" and the music video for "Nearer Than Heaven".[61][62][63] Gilbert asked Rough Trade to reach out to Bodys Isek Kingelez with the intent of using one of his images for the album's cover. When they were unable to contract him, Gilbert began sketching out the cover; he used the same colour scheme as found on The Best of the Beach Boys 1970-1986: The Brother Years (2000) by the Beach Boys, and the font from Loveless (1991) by My Bloody Valentine.[64][65] The album came out as the Libertines and the Strokes were reaching the mainstream, which was something Travis wanted the band to push against.[66] They toured the US for the first time in July 2004, alongside Cardia and Paula Kelly.[67] In September 2004, the band supported Franz Ferdinand on their headlining US tour. Following this, Delays went on a headlining UK tour in October and November 2004.[68] "Wanderlust" was used as the B-side to the non-album single "Lost in a Melody", which was released in November 2004.[68][69] The band closed out the year supporting Snow Patrol on two of their headlining shows.[68]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[70]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Drowned in Sound	7/10[16]
Gigwise	[71]
God Is in the TV	3/5[42]
The Guardian	[34]
NME	7/10[38]
No Ripchord	7/10[72]
Pitchfork	6/10[18]
Robert Christgau	[73]
Stylus Magazine	C[27]

Faded Seaside Glamour was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 24 reviews.[70]

Wilson complimented Gilbert's voice and their "honest to goodness melodic tones".[17] Deusner said he had "an impressive voice: Earthbound, it has a grainy, adenoidal whine" that "sounds startling and strikingly androgynous" when reaching for higher notes.[18] The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey said Gilbert's "unashamedly effeminate, gossamer falsetto" acted as a curveball, merging with "melodies so fresh they could have wafted in from across the Solent".[34] Mike Davidson of Gigwise singled out Gilbert's "dreamy falsetto" as helping to separate the band from their peers, something that Noel Murray of The A.V. Club echoed.[71][21] No Ripchord writer D.C. Harrison added to this, saying that Gilbert was "in possession of a memorable voice that gives the song[s] an air of Cupid and Psyche '85 era Scritti Politti romanticism".[72]

Wilson saw the album as an "honest presentation" that displayed the band's "crisp musicianship and the foursome's lush harmonies".[17] Davidson praised its "considerable scope and ambition" as being "magnificent".[71] God Is in the TV writer Steven Daniels said some albums can be frontloaded, while Faded Seaside Glamour "picks up pace just when it needs to and there's no filler in sight".[42] Deusner said the band "never to rely on Gilbert's pipes to justify themselves" as they "bolster their ephemeral sound with studied songcraft and an array of touchstones".[18] Hot Press's Phil Udell added to this, saying it had a "real uniqueness of spirit and approach at work here that few others have been able to match of late".[24]

Drowned in Sound's Tom Edwards wrote that while it "falls somewhat flat on the quality meter", when the "formula works, the results are never less than glorious". He went to call nearly a third of it "devoted to namby-pamby ballads" that were "stripped of the band’s trademark sugary hooks".[16] Barry Nicolson of NME offered a similar remark, stating that the album's main flaw was its "sugar-coated crystalline sheen that surrounds everything".[38] Stylus Magazine reviewer Nick Southall did the same, writing that there were "[n]ice enough melodies and average tunes [...] which makes Delays sound like a much better band than they actually are".[27] Harrison went further by referring to it as a "proverbial mixed bag" that had "occasional moments of album filler".[72] Music critic Robert Christgau simply gave the album a "dud" rating.[73]

Faded Seaside Glamour peaked at number 17 in the UK Albums Chart; it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.[74][75] "Nearer Than Heaven" charted number 91 in the UK; its reissue peaked at number 21 in the UK and number 25 in Scotland.[74][76] "Hey Girl" charted at number 40 in the UK and number 59 in Scotland.[74][77] "Long Time Coming" charted at number 16 in the UK and number 24 in Scotland.[74][78]

Writing credits per booklet.[7]

Personnel per booklet.[7]

• Faded Seaside Glamour at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)