Delta Mainline – In a World of Madness, the Simple Joy of Melody Can Pull You Through EP

Don’t let the title put you off, this EP isn’t nearly as sappy as the moniker suggests and not to get too hung up on it but it’s also rather misleading; melodies are definitely not the first thing to strike you about Delta Mainline. What does strike you is the sonic wave of lush instrumentation, layers and layers of psychedelic goodness, creating a hugely textural and almost space-age sound.

This is a talented band. However the melodies themselves tend to buckle under the weight of the expansive arrangements, especially on lead track Here Comes The Light, and one can’t help but feel if the layers were stripped away, the songs wouldn’t stand up to the test. Still, if you’re looking to get swept along in a whirlwind of epic reverberated rock then you could do a lot worse than to jump on the Delta Mainline. [Alan Souter]