The Delgados: The Great Eastern

With all due respect to the Steve Albini school of hands-off recording, the role of the producer as a creative force cannot be underestimated. The Glaswegian quartet The Delgados has long been one of Scotland's finest musical imports, though its fuzzed-out, low-fidelity approach to pop all but assured that the shy group would remain a cult favorite. For album number three, however, The Delgados enlisted producer du jour Dave Fridmann, and damned if this isn't the great leap forward he helped facilitate in Mercury Rev, Elf Power, and The Flaming Lips. It's the latter's astounding The Soft Bulletin to which The Great Eastern will no doubt be compared, but it's tough to imagine a stronger compliment. With booming drums, dense orchestration, and swirling psychedelic sound effects, The Great Eastern is this year's candidate for perfect headphone candy, yet the record packs the songs to back up the sounds. "The Past That Suits You Best" is the epic, dynamic opener all albums like this one call for, but singer Alun Woodward's melancholy vocals stand as a contrasting counterpoint to the cascading, ebullient music. Second singer Emma Pollock leads "Accused Of Stealing" to VU heaven, while "American Trilogy" rides a wave of waltz-time guitar, bells, and keyboards toward an irresistible chorus. It's the midway mark of "No Danger," though, that hints at masterpiece status. With a structure reminiscent of "A Day In The Life" (right down to the chaotic conclusion), "No Danger" takes a mournful piano motif and morphs it into an anthem of such beautiful uplift that you might not know whether to weep tears of joy or sadness. Without the push of a giant label, The Great Eastern runs the risk of getting lost in the rush of seasonal releases, but there's no question that this underdog will ingratiate itself in the memories and hearts of everyone who hears it.