(30th October) Manchester indie risers Delights have released new single "What's On Your Mind" - the latest invigorating taste of the band's debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This' - out 17th January 2025 on Modern Sky.
Following the announcement that the band will support Blossoms in Manchester on the 20th November, "What's On Your Mind" further expands on Delights' colourful, sweeping indie soundscapes.
With synth pads and arpeggiators accentuating the triad of vocal harmonies from Adam Maxwell, Cameron Stephenson and Ben Kirkland, the band note the textural and tonal qualities of The War on Drugs as a key point of inspiration for the song.
A call for authenticity and genuine expression in a world often driven by superficiality and conformity, lyricist and lead vocalist Adam Maxwell added:
"Lyrically, the song has themes surrounding frustration within the music industry & the inevitable competitive nature that is synonymous with being a musician and what that entails. This was the first song that we came upon through our album writing sessions in France last summer and was absolutely one of the most fun and fulfilling tracks that we made for this record. The song is full of energy from the get-go and we can’t wait to be able to work the song into our set in a live setting."
Delights' debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This', produced by Michael Smith (Wolf Alice) is out 17th January on Modern Sky - available to pre-order on 12" vinyl and CD here. New single "What's On Your Mind" is out now.
Delights will tour the album in 2025 with stops in Leeds, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, London and Manchester, tickets on sale here.
Delights are: Adam Maxwell (vocals), Ben Kirkland (bass), Ben Squires (guitar), Leo Willis (drums) and Cameron Stephenson (percussion).
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More about Delights & debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This'
Email joly@warmth.agency for advance album download / stream
Delights' string of singles in recent months have seen airplay on BBC R1's Future Artists, from BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, as well as an addition to Radio X's X-Posure Playlist, 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 the band's debut album 'If Heaven Looks A Little Like This' (out 17th January 2025), Delights are stepping into an electrifying new world of sound. “This is the only moment you have your debut album,” reasons drummer Leo Willis. “So [you can] step outside your comfort zone and experiment.”
Produced by Michael Smith (Wolf Alice), 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.
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 R1 & 6 Music, and BBC Introducing in Manchester and have amassed over 5 million streams for their releases to date.
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