“When we started out, we were just a typical indie band,” guitarist Ben Squires says. “We’ve tried to break away from that a little bit to not just be straight indie.” Instead, their first full-length record introduces a wider sonic palette that reflects their collective tastes through an appreciation of legacy and their hometown forebears, with vibrant nods to funk, soul, disco, psychedelia, classic rock, and stadium-sized indie-pop. “This is the only moment you have your debut album,” reasons drummer Leo Willis. “So, you can step outside your comfort zone and experiment.”    

 

‘Say It Once’ nods to the naughties indie dance greats and current wave of forward thinking guitar bands as singer Adam explains, “We were listening to Bombay Bicycle Club, Gengahr, Arcade Fire and Future Islands. “Say It Once” is a song that had offshoots from our mini-album: “Cool Sports”, it was re-worked from a song that didn’t make the final cut on that record, into a totally new song for “If Heaven Looks a Little Like This”.   With Adam explaining further, “On this version, the keyboard sound right at the end of the song was actually just taken from a live rehearsal recording in the band’s practice room that just seemed the perfect fit, and the band wanted to use something recorded in our practice room as an ode to the surroundings in which the record was made.  Lyrically, the song has themes of not being afraid to take risks when life presents you with decisions, and to ultimately follow your intuition in situations to guide you and make you fulfilled.”

 

DELIGHTS demonstrate their collective taste through an appreciation of legacy and their Manchester forebears. With nods to baggy, nu-rave, funk and soul, disco, classic rock, indie-pop and psychedelia, the five-piece traverse these worlds with the ease and confidence of a band multiple albums into their career.

 

‘Hotel Bar’ pushes new fashion forwards stylistic buttons for DELIGHTS, having recently completed work on their first full length body of work with producer Michael Smith (WOLF ALICE).  

 

Fittingly for an album that captures both the fun and struggles of band life, this determined new chapter in DELIGHTS story started with an obstacle that many emerging artists will relate to. Faced with the news that their former practice space was being turned into flats, the band struggled to find a replacement spot that wouldn’t break the bank. “It actually ended up being cheaper for us to go and hire an AirBnB in France,” explains Squires.   So, they decamped to a big house in the French countryside for 10 days, working from 11am until 4am each day, pressing record when they woke up and not hitting stop until they went to sleep. They’d brought with them a van packed with “absolutely everything that we had that made a noise” and used other items they discovered around their temporary home to come up with new ideas and songs. “We found a guitar in an old hard case on top of the wardrobe in one of the rooms,” Stephenson recalls. “That’s the first thing we started playing and will be the first thing you hear when you press play, on the album.” LISTENING LINK HERE

 

‘Say It Once’ was produced by Micheal Smith with finishing touches made to the embryonic French recordings made at Oxford’s Wormwood Studios.  

 

DELIGHTS are Adam Maxwell (vocals), Ben Kirkland (bass), Ben Squires (guitar), Leo Willis (drums) and Cameron Stephenson (percussion).  DELIGHTS released their debut EP 'In My Life' in 2021, followed by 2022's mini-album 'Cool Sports' - interspersed with a string of buoyant single releases.

 

AIRPLAY:  Sat Bisla (Passport Approved), Tara Kumar (Future Sounds), BBC Radio 1, Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X, John Kennedy, BBC Introducing Manchester, XS Manchester, Shell Zenner, Frankie Francis, Amazing Radio UK.  SPOTIFY: New Music Friday, The Indie List, Proper Belters; The Lovely LIttle Playlist, We Are Manchester  Apple Music: New In Pop, New In Rock.  PRESS:  The Line of Best Fit, Dork Magazine, Rough Trade, When The Horn Blows, Ones To Watch, Breaking More Waves, Rock Current and Kool Rock Radio.