The Delicious

Self-titled CD

Joyful Noise / Decimal Records

Genre: indie rock

Bloomington, IN

May 14, 2009

To compare The Delicious to early Dismemberment Plan would be a lazy but undeniably effective means of conveying the nature of the music on this debut record. This trendy Bloomington fourpiece constructs jerky, spasmodic indie rock anthems that joyfully balance insanity with melody.

As a big fan of the word “delicious,” I wanted to like this gleeful record going in, and I wasn't disappointed. When the members of The Delicious are on their game, they churn out some flat-out tasty songs. Enthusiastic “It's Not Time to Die” and pulverizing “Separated at Birth” are formidable cutlets, but it's clever and infectious “Corn Syrup” (an ode to high-fructose corn syrup) and fantastic “Dearest Duchess” that truly stick out.

Like early Dismemberment Plan, one of the band's strongest assets is their zest for wordplay. Whoever is writing the lyrics for The Delicious is a remarkably capable poet, spinning off zippy abstract word associations with incredulous fluency. They impress even when they don't make sense, often due to sheer verbosity alone: “Safety wheels and crutches, and crutches/Are oh-so-not-so dainty touches to support the number-one pastry duchess.” But the band is most charming at their more coherent, as on “Suspended in Air” and “Corn Syrup” (“Hey, hello, high fructose corn syrup, you're in everything I eat/Oh no, I don't know if that makes me any more sweet.”)

The Delicious may not be household staples yet, but they exude unquestionable promise. Put flatly, this debut is a delectable, delightful, and, yes, delicious treat.

the delicious' myspace

86%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 13 tracks, distributed by the label, released April 2008]