Delorean – Subiza (True Panther)

A quartet from Barcelona, Delorean specialise in a peculiar brand of surf-tinged electro-pop. On the back of their Ayrton Senna EP released in 2009, the four-piece found favour in the blogosphere and now return with their third full-length album, Subiza, which aims to capitalise on the ensuing hype.

When they’re capable of crafting shimmering pop songs with as much panache as ‘Real Love’, a gauzy M83-ish delight, it’s not hard to understand why listeners, bloggers and critics alike have been so enthused by their Balearic-stained sound. Sweeping electronics meld with crisp rhythms and intermittent heavy piano chords, like a lo-fi house tune designed to get hands waving in the air from the tiniest clubs to the most wide open festival sites, its euphoric veneer being characteristic of Subiza’s giddy pleasures.

If nothing else on Subiza quite matches that song’s deliciously dizzying haze, there are still plenty of moments which capture Delorean’s stargazing beauty and oddly grandiose flourishes. Their sun-kissed, daintily electronic pop takes in shoegazing references as well as the obligatory chillwave nods.

Narcotic, widescreen synth-pop is the order of the day on album closer ‘It’s All Ours’, which sculpts blissed-out tones from much the same elements that Animal Collective brought to the fore on Merriweather Post Pavilion, and indeed Avey Tare, Panda Bear and co are an obvious reference point for Delorean, though there are a few hints of New Order in their translucent grooves, too.

With day-glo drones and uplifting beats, Delorean fall more easily into the category of a danceable act than many of their contemporaries, with Subiza being largely uncomplicated dance-pop, though that’s not to say that there’s a lack of interesting layers on this lush, accessible record. Bold, brash and beautiful in their own way, Delorean might lack the complexities of Animal Collective but instead deliver an enjoyably high-energy long-player which is robust, anthemic and ideal summer listening.