Universal Audio, by Delgados

Low expectations can be a wonderful thing. The person who gave me Universal Audio by Delgados hated it and since we usually have similar tastes, I almost didn’t listen to it. I put this album in the category of The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian. For one thing, they all rotate between male and female vocals. More than that though, they all have an optimistic tone behind wonderfully unapologetic pop melodies. Delgados are less quirky than New Pornographers and more approachable than Belle and Sebastian. That is part of the charm of those two groups, so Delgados sort of lack a defining personality trait. The songs are so well written, that I don’t really mind, though. Check them out if you get the chance.