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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Universal Audio
Universal acclaim
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Chemikal Underground
Release Date: 28 September 2004
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
The fifth and final album from The Delgados (released on the band's own Chemikal Underground label) was co-produced with Tony Doogan. It ditches the strings of its orchestral predecessor, 'Hate,' to take a much poppier approach.
Also By This Artist: Hate
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Mojo
Like a cookie full of arsenic, Universal Audio's indie sweetness conceals a dark, deathly heart. [Nov 2004, p.114]
Stylus Magazine
It all sounds nice enough to start with, but as you hear it more and more you love it more and more, the simple charms showing themselves to be more and more complicated but no less delightful.
Read Full Review >Spin
Goes for basic sun-dappled guitar pop. [Nov 2004, p.118]
The Guardian
Behind the surface sweetness of Emma Pollock's voice, the chiming guitars, the mellifluous folky lilt of the melodies and direct but deft production, these songs are as complex, adult and frequently as bleak as any the Delgados have ever written.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
The Delgados won't lose any fans with this one. In fact they might just find themselves in bigger venues on this side of the pond shortly.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
The listener gets acoustic ballads, guitar-driven rock exercises, poppy refrains, and jazz-inflected asides in a single package, and at no point does it really feel that the Scottish quartet is overextending itself or sacrificing the vitality of its work for the ability to slap the name of another sonic digression on the board.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
If you like your indie rock sweet and sophisticated with undertones of despair, you'll want to cuddle up with Universal Audio.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Like all Delgados records, it takes repeated drives along the city outskirts to sink in, but when it does there's no going back, and the listener is rewarded once again with something rich, happily overcast, and strangely intangible.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Other than the minor quibble that there's not as many immediately bracing hooks as on past efforts, Universal Audio has very little to apologize for.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Even if Hate stands as their most visionary statement, Universal Audio has a subtler strength.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Universal Audio is a triumph in pop standard, simultaneously reminiscent of all the clichés, soundtrack archetypes, and euphonic exigencies of pure melody inherent in the mainstream pop of the last two decades. Yet it’s still a fully realized, consistently rewarding, original work.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
A surprisingly adept three-minute pop formula record. [#7]
New Musical Express
What remains is pure, unspoilt guitar-pop genius that demands to be marvelled at. [18 Sep 2004, p.65]
Q Magazine
At times, the sugary vocals do become a little sickly; mostly, though, Universal Audio is a mastercalss in harmonious guitar pop. [Oct 2004, p.122]
Entertainment Weekly
Skip to track 7, then hit play. [1 Oct 2004, p.74]
Tiny Mix Tapes
Melodies are practically nonexistent, leaving the music almost completely ignorable.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ali C gave it a9:
Predicatably, The Delgados, one of Britains most consistently brilliant (and consistently underrated) bands strike gold once again. The Great Eastern remains my favourite record by a British group, but this comes damn close. What's so great about the Delgados is the way each new album strikes off in a new direction, whilst retaining they're amazing song writing abilities and superb arrangements. They've even got a killer guitar solo (well, almost) on 'Everyone Come Down' my favourite summer song of 2004. Best track, though, is 'Sink or Swim'. If they're ever in your town, see them live: Emma Pollock, for such a wee lass, belts them out, and they are incredibly tight.
Dan B. gave it a9:
I've listened to it six times in a row now and it's getting better each time.
Ryan H gave it a10:
I didn't think they could top Hate, but they may have done it. The Delgados are the masters of dark, melodic music. While this album is less dark than Hate, it still retains a that bleak, almost spooky feeling that sets the Delgados apart from other top notch pop artists. The two exceptions to this, Everybody Come Down and Girls of Valour, are so catchy and well-written that their unremarkable style is easily forgivable. Despite being a relatively straight up pop record (the strings that lent Hate such sweeping grandeur are mostly missing) repeated listens richly reward. This band is severely underrated.
angela g gave it a10:
UNIVERSAL AUDIO an album of true understated beauty. GENIUS
[Anonymous] gave it a 9:
A substantial departure from The Great Eastern and Hate, but undoubtedly a fantastic album. The Delgados have acheived the elegant and pulsing orchestrations from their previous two albums but with the more raw instrumentation from Peloton. If this album has a downside, it's that it comes off as poppy and unmemorable upon first listen, while subsequent listenings reveal its depth.
Daniel P gave it a 9:
A departure from their last two albums. It may seem like a simple pop album, but it's far from that. There is amazing depth here. The Delgados are a tremendously underated group, who with this album have shown how talented they really are. A very good record that will hold up quite nicely.
