In Emma Pollock’s Loop: Alasdair Gray

To those who loved them, Glasgow, Scotland’s Delgados were the near-perfect blend of churning, indie-rock edginess and stirring, girl/boy vocals, wrapped in gasp-inducing orchestral arrangements that made time stand still. A tough act for vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock to follow, you might think, when the band split amicably in 2006. And yet, Pollock’s ’07 solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, wasted no time in identifying how crucial she had been to the unique sound of the Delgados. Three years later, the former physics major returns with The Law Of Large Numbers (Chemikal Underground), which goes down like a couple of dry martinis after a savory meal, welcoming you to Pollock’s expanding universe of sound. Pollock will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.

Pollock: I’ve never really been too actively interested in visual art or painting as such, but I have become increasingly aware of Alasdair Gray‘s artistic work over the past few years. He is best known as the author of the book Lanark, which was eventually published in 1981 after 25 years in the making. Having not read the book yet, I am currently more aware of his painting: vivid block colours alongside incredibly detailed and quite bizarre line drawings and often accompanied by hand-written prose. These prints are at once timeless and modern, and I hope to get a few on the walls of our house before long. Video after the jump.