Ah, Delorentos. What can we say about Delorentos?...No, seriously, what in god’s name is anyone supposed to say about this band? Seemingly the whole point of this band is to violently resist treading any kind of new or interesting water. With this in mind they truly shine as they perfectly fit into the highly profitable mould of the kind of whiney indy-cunt four piece which was pissing everyone off around 7 years ago.
Just think Snow Patrol meets Coldplay and you’ve pretty much got the idea and probably a violent spasm of loathing. But hey, maybe I shouldn’t be so hard. I mean Delorentos undoubtedly have their fans, in that same indescribable way that The Frames, Bell XI, and Aslan do, and those fans probably want a fair and descriptive appraisal. Oh well, that’s what every other music website is for.
You Can Make Sound is insipid from the off. The first track Sanctuary sets the middling tone for the rest of the album. Lots of 'melodic' guitar work, which of course means that it evokes 'atmosphere', and when you pair this with some moaning fuck going on about lights in the darkness then I guess I had better call it 'deep' as well. It all goes on in this vain and with the second track Secret, the band even plays the now done-to-death-please-stop-doing-it-it’s-killing-me card of…you guessed it…throwing a fucking synth at a track and hoping for the best.
It’s this kind of music by the numbers which gets me all riled up. I’m not saying that Delorentos should have released some kind of Jazz-fusion record but when you’re being so utterly rigid and trite with every aspect of your music, a sense of irony or, god forbid humour, wouldn’t go amiss. Being so jarringly earnest for eleven tracks straight just leaves the impression of a thick bombardment of white noise, which actually brings me to the one positive aspect of the album; it fits seamlessly into the background and you’ll barely notice it’s there at all.
This isn’t a complete disclaimer for not noticing the album however. Sometimes the lyrics are so bad that it’s like having Mike Tyson pop up and punch you in the neck. It’s all about “you” and “us” and “where do we go from here?” and “honey, I know you’ve spent your life in a shadow”. Dizzee Rascal sums up the lyrical implications of all his songs with two words, 'sex' and 'violence'. Delorentos can do it in one 'bullshit'.
I think I just made it through this review without mentioning that if you were to randomly swap members between The Coronas, The Delorentos, and The Blizzards no one would be able to tell the difference. Go me.
College fund burning a hole in your pocket? If you would rather spend your money on music than themed stationary this year, here's a round-up of the albums we're loving this week.
