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: Black Sheep, brewed in Wensleydale, is a wonderful ale that I discovered on holiday in the Lake District a few years back and buy as often as I can now. Can’t really describe it, but it has a real earthy taste and is quite distinctive. The story of how it came about is also worth noting. There’s a very successful brewery in the same area called Theakston that the Theakston family started many many years ago, but was taken over by bigger brewery Scottish & Newcastle in 1987. One of the brothers decided that he didn’t want to be part of the new takeover, and so he started Black Sheep on his own, using bits of traditional brewing kit that he salvaged from other breweries about to be demolished. Not sure if the brothers talk at all now. Video after the jump.
