Acolyte
4/5
The problem with fusion genres such as rap-rock, disco-punk and acid-jazz is practitioners tend to do neither half particularly well. Manchester quartet Delphic has crossbred dance and rock without watering down the essence of either. Acolyte, Delphic’s precociously accomplished debut, doesn’t merely dabble in dance-floor rhythms. ‘This Momentary’ hypnotizes with swelling four-on-the-floor techno throbs, while the stellar single ‘Doubt’ shimmers and booms subwoofers as well as any Trentemøller 12-inch. Sparkling arpeggios and electronic drums swirl throughout the mix in ‘Red Lights’ and ‘Counterpoint’.
These adolescents know their stuff and could easily get by crafting house cuts for discotheques on Spanish isles. But it’s the beautiful melodies and that knack for an earworm chorus that have vaulted the foursome atop the dance-rock heap with Hot Chip. ‘Doubt’ is sugared heartbreak; harmonies add humanity to the slick speeding train of ‘Halcyon’. The latter also features a ripping postpunk guitar solo. Frankly, it’s one of the most successful mutts since the Labradoodle.
