As I’ve mentioned in other posts, once MTV dried out as a source of music discovery, it was up to your own sense of resourcefulness to renew your music repertoire.

Blogs, magazines, the odd recommendation from a friend, a serendipitous radio station, you name it. Whatever you could do to get more music. Even P2P sites had mixes of new songs and those were also contributors to my music history. And if we want to go for a mystical approach, sometimes an album just feels “right”. Once mixup started dumping their cds at bargain prices, you’d pick something that “looked ok” from the cover or the song titles and like any grab bag, you could get a hitter or a duffer.

In the case of The Delays sophomore album You see colours, it was the front cover. I was waiting for my then girlfriend to finish looking over some DVDs and as I strolled around the shop, the colour cables on black background artwork simply beckoned. An employee was nearby and I asked if I could sample a few tracks. He obliged, opened carefully as it included stickers -as all Noiselab in Mexico did at the time- and pressed play. The sorrowful voice of dearly departed Greg Gilbert solemnly opens You and me, then that 80s synth hits you with the energy of an Irn Bru/tequila cocktail and you never stop. It’s a tremendous way to open an album and it was an instant sell for me.

Valentine has this Giorgio Moroder synth ambiance that makes you groove. Sink like a stone is Celtic reggaeton (!!!) and you can stop dancing to it with a dumb big smile in you face. Lillian apes Iggy Pop’s The Passenger for a few stops. Out of nowhere feels is the moment you stumble out of a club, full of regret and with empty pockets, with menial climb up the hill back to your house. Not that I know anything about that.

We heard the album back on the way to my girlfriend’s gaff and she loved it. I made her a copy and thought about buying her a copy, but I never got around to it. In a way, the entire album was intertwined with our relationship and although it felt apart, we’re still friends and meet once or twice a year for food and gossip.

Noiselab distributed many indie bands in the early to late 00s and I think I bought pretty much everything they released. I still listen to The Delays, The Long Blondes, and Pretty Girls Make Graves. I’d be lying if I wasn’t a sucker for free stickers, but I might as well do!

-Sam J. Valdés López