This album landed in my lap from nowhere. On first listen, I liked it and didn't know why. On second listen, I loved it and still didn't know why. By the third listen I realised that it was because it drew from so many bands I adore, some tracks sound like Bloc Party, some like Hot Chip and others like a budding New Order. By the time I got to my tenth listen, I'd picked this as my early choice for album of the year (if Animal Collective can do it in January, so can Delphic)!

Doing some research, I realised the killer buzz that was around these guys: #3 on BBC's Sounds of 2010, supporting tours with Kasabian and Orbital, #8 on the UK album charts and their second single was iTunes 'Single of the Week' earlier this month. Even given that, I was blown away from the moment opening track 'Clarion Call' grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me with its driving guitars and ethereal vocals. And it only got better, from the anthemic chorus of 'Doubt' to the instrumental title track's swelling menace and closing with the evocative mellow of 'Ephemera' and 'Remain'. 

What really strikes me is the diversity on offer, not only does the whole album seem like one big indie adventure, but each track seems to bubble and buzz with depth and innovation. It's an album in the truest sense of the artform, each track not only informing the next track but improving, colouring and clarifying your whole experience of the music. The band have even described their music as "euphoria mixed with a real Manchester melancholy" (BBC Sound of 2010: Delphic, BBC News online, Ian Youngs, BBC News music reporter) and you can see this contrast in the yearning refrain of "lets do something real" that overlays the invigorating beats of 'This Momentary'. But it's this tension, this conflict, which makes the album such an interesting and refreshing experience.

I'll say it again. Album of the Year 2010. Don't take that as a pessimistic outlook on future album releases, more as a reflection of the 'melancholic euphoria' I'm still feeling after flogging a brilliant debut album from this Mancunian quartet. For a few more months my routine is going to be: iPhone>iPod>Artists>Delphic>Acolyte>Play>Repeat.

Review Score: 9.5/10