Delayed Departure - Your Colours

Release date : Oct 19th

Track Listing:

01 Neon Lights
02 Who Are You
03 Breathe It In
04 Better Way To Be
05 Your Colours
06 Too Close

Delayed Departure are a 5 piece alternative rock band from Farnborough. I first came across this band with the single 'Ocean' from the last E.P release 'Consequences'. It was a track that I loved and was patiently waiting to hear what this next collection of tracks was going to be like. The recommendation is that they are for fans of You Me At Six, Mallory Knox & Deaf Havana. I couldn't tell you what any of those sound like but if it's true I'll have to check them out as well. The comparison I would loosely draw is with InMe at least from the instrumental section of the band.

We're off to a good start with the first song and lead single for the E.P 'Neon Lights'. It opens up with quite a bouncy guitar riff with a layer of atmospheric lead that leads into more uptempo verse. The chorus sees vocalist Mike Harland really giving it some and delivering what a vocalist in a band is supposed to. Emotion. Here's what he had to say about this particular track.

"Essentially, this was about a particular night where we all went out as a band and I had that sort of drunken hallucinogenic vision where we felt invincible and unstoppable. The longevity of the night was at the expense of the bright neon lights that were around us, every time I felt as though the night was drawing to a close the lights seemed to get brighter and almost like a moth to a flame drew me back in.”
 

'Who Are You' knocks the tempo and the intensity up a notch whilst maintaining the atmospheric feel in the 'breather' sections. Another solid tune. To calm you down, the next track slows the pace down to a more ballad like speed but maintains the powerful big chord riff chorus allowing you to 'Breathe It In' (see what I did there? name of the track..). I wasn't initially pulled in by 'Better Way To Be' until I was hit by the heavy metal breakdown that appeared as if from nowhere and wouldn't sound too out of place on an alter bridge song. Because of that part and revisiting the track for it, I can feel it's probably a grower. From then on is where it's starts to slip. Maybe it's because I'm not overly familiar with the genre but the title track 'Your Colours' lost me a bit. I couldn't get to grips with the scales and melodies involved and to me it sounded a bit confused. It's a shame because it was going quite well up until that point. Closing number 'Too Close' brings it back a bit but is one of the weaker songs on display.

To round up, I would say it's a solid effort with some great tracks. It does trail off a bit a the end but for me it's enough to forgive. I'm a big fan of vocals overall. They are genuine, vulnerable when it calls for it and emotional when they need to be. The production is tidy and professional which is always a big hurdle for smaller bands. Delayed Departure have a lot of potential and definitely a band to keep your eye on. This being the third release and also the best so far they are on an upward trajectory I hope they continue on.

Here is the single 'Neon Lights' for you to see what you think for yourself.

You can pre order 'Your Colours' on itunes here -
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/your-colours-ep/1428780694

Delayed Departure:

Mike Harland: Vocalist
Charlie Bluck: Guitarist
Jamie Hooks: Guitarist
Ollie Drapper: Bass Guitarist
Steven Kedge: Drummer