Delphic - Halcyon (Polydor)

Daniel Harris | Sunday, 11 April 2010

'Halcyon' is a period of calm and happiness. The word derives from a fabled kingfisher seen by sailors who believe it to calm winter tempests. If you want to hear a song that beautifully encapsulates the word then you can do no wrong by listening to Orbital's 'Halcyon'. If you want to hear a bit of indie-dance crossover fodder, this latest offering from Delphic is the song for you.

The fairly enjoyable bleeps and loops hide what is at root a fairly mundane story of love and loss. Love or hate Bloc Party's recent offerings in dance crossover, they do at least have a superb talent in creating lyrically and melodically strong content prior to hitting the tinker button.

The reasons for this single existing all seem slightly unsavory. You will have no doubt heard the song used on a mobile phone advert and Polydor will want to cash in on that exposure. Delphic have already proven they are better than this single suggests. The title track on their debut album Acolyte is simply sublime; it suggests Delphic are able to fulfill a role more akin to the aforementioned Orbital.

Rating: 3/5