Delights

"The quintet revel in their boundary-pushing indie ethos...refreshingly explorative"
DIY Magazine

“Soaring pop hooks...a statement-making moment for a band on the rise”
Dork Magazine

"Finely-crafted next-gen indie"
The Line of Best Fit

"So catchy...a track that demands to be played loud"
Far Out Magazine

Manchester indie-risers Delights today reveal new single "And It Goes" - the latest taste of the band's debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This' - now due for release on 17th January 2025 via Modern Sky. 

Delights have also announced new headline tour dates to celebrate the album's release next year, with stops in Leeds, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, London and Manchester.

An energetic blast of indie-rock, from its rich instrumentation and soaring hooks, new single "And It Goes" examines envy, bitterness, and the pressures at play within the music industry. Sonically, drawing influence from Supergrass & their 'I Should Coco' album - bassist Ben Kirkland takes the lead vocal role for the new single.

On the track's lyrical inspiration, the band shared:

"‘And It Goes’, in short, explores the often painstaking relationship between the creative and the industry in which they exist. Turbulent highs and lows are to be expected, even more so when the artist is expected to give up control over their project to a myriad of external influences. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Suits in disguise. Empty promises from industry big-wigs can dismantle hopes and dreams just as quickly as they’re built up, letting you down and leading you to forget the reason you started to make art in the first place."

New single "And It Goes" follows the release of previous album tasters, "I Think You Should Know" and "Two Times Over" - all set to appear on the band's debut album. The album campaign thus far has seen glowing radio airplay from BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Radio X (John Kennedy) and BBC Introducing Manchester, as well as key tastemaker press support from The Line of Best Fit, DIY Magazine, Dork Magazine, Rough Trade, The Rock Revival, Far Out Magazine, When The Horn Blows, Ones To Watch, and more.

On debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This', produced by Michael Smith (Wolf Alice), Delights are stepping into an electrifying new world of sound. “When we started out, we were just a typical indie band,” guitarist Ben Squires says. “We’ve tried to break away from that a little bit to not just be straight indie.”

Their first full-length record introduces a wider sonic palette that reflects their collective tastes through an appreciation of legacy and their hometown forebears, with vibrant nods to funk, soul, disco, psychedelia, classic rock, and stadium-sized indie-pop. “This is the only moment you have your debut album,” reasons drummer Leo Willis. “So [you can] step outside your comfort zone and experiment.”

Decamping to a house in France to build the initial framework for their debut full length, for 10 straight days the band worked from 11am until 4am, pressing record when they woke up and not hitting stop until they went to sleep. This time away from the noise of their daily lives ultimately allowed Delights to make the album mirror the live experience, bringing the energy of all five of the band playing together as one.

The band would then go on to finish the record at Oxford’s Woodworm Studios, where they worked with Michael Smith. “When we got to the studio, we were really conscious about making the most of the time we had there,” vocalist Maxwell explains. “So being able to hash out everything before we got there, but leaving room to experiment in the studio, was massive.” 

That spirit of togetherness and unity fuels this album, both in the sounds they’ve created and the record’s broad themes. Although there are subplots of love and relationships dotted through it, at its heart, this is a record dedicated to the experience of being in a band. “I was quite conscious that, if we want it to stand our own test of time, I want to know where I was and where we were as a collective,” says Maxwell, the band’s chief lyricist. “So lyrically, it’s trying to explain that story of us doing this and having fun, but where we are right now – skint, working hard, trying to be in a band and do cool things that playing will allow us to do.” 

Delights released their debut EP 'In My Life' in 2021, followed by 2022's mini-album 'Cool Sports' - interspersed with a string of buoyant single releases. During those formative years, Delights saw their stocks unwaveringly rise. Described by The Line of Best Fit as "finely-crafted next-gen indie" with the arrival of 'Cool Sports' in 2022, since then the band have embarked on numerous successful UK headline tours, sold out shows at London's MOTH Club and Manchester venue Canvas, received keen radio support from BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing in Manchester and have amassed over 5 million streams for their releases to date.

Delights' debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This' is out 17th January on Modern Sky - available to pre-order on 12" vinyl and CD here. New single "And It Goes" is out now. Delights will tour the album in 2025, tickets here.

Delights are: Adam Maxwell (vocals), Ben Kirkland (bass), Ben Squires (guitar), Leo Willis (drums) and Cameron Stephenson (percussion).