Delta Sleep – ‘Twin Galaxies’ [Review]
This album should come with a warning: If you try to air-guitar along to it, your fingers will wind up in knots. Imagine turning up in A&E with twisted knot-hands and trying to explain it to the triage nurse. Exactly. Stay safe, yeah?
Since 2010, Delta Sleep have specialised in a brand of math-rock that is, frankly, mad as a lorry. Their world is one within which Radiohead harmonies co-exist warily with difficult-to-decode-let-alone-digest rhythmic patterns and foundation-mutating time signatures – and this album marks their longest exploratory endeavour to date. Let’s just say this journey is not one for the faint-eared.
After the eccentric electronica and creepy-cute keyboard of 45-second opener Assemble, Activate comes the onslaught, commencing with UncleIvan – a relentless anxiety attack of a track crammed with syncopated stabs and a distinct sense of Jesus-where-the-fuck-am-I-????!?!??!?!?. This more or less sets up the tone of the entire remainder of Twin Galaxies, bar chiming-harmonic interlude Aspetta: 21 Letters sees innocent melodies pushed off rhythmic cliffs onto jagged riff-rocks; Spy Turtles is unsettlingly warm and glitchy, while an entire academic essay could be written about Spy Dolphin‘s lyrics; Daniel Craig David is more than a winning title, cunningly crafted and impressively cool and catchy; Hungry For Love sees Delta Sleep declare war on an unwitting rhythmic theme; and Strongthany is an appropriately strong closer, matching awesome grooves with fresh and funky guitar work and expansive fusion-flavoured chords.
Of Twin Galaxies‘ ten tracks, one remains to be mentioned – and it is an absolute winner. It’s this album’s single, Lake Sprinkle Sprankle. Man alive, those are some fucking great lyrics. If you’re looking to be stunned rigid right now, head down to the Bandcamp player below and let it wash over you. If you’ve already heard it, and you’re chomping at the bit to hear more, trust me – Twin Galaxies is going to be worth the wait.
TMMP RATING: 93%
Links / Listen
Twin Galaxies is set to drop on June 15 via Big Scary Monsters.
Delta Sleep on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow TMMP on Twitter for more from the world of world-class music! If you’re a regular reader, thanks for the support! Don’t stop, and keep going!