Everything's the Rush is the third studio album by British rock band Delays. It was released on 5 May 2008 through Fiction and Polydor Records. As touring in promotion for their second studio album You See Colours wrapped up in 2006, the band decamped to Space Mountain in Spain with producer Martin "Youth" Glover to work on its follow up. After recording one song at Mayfair Studios in London, recording concluded after 20 days in total. Everything's the Rush is an indie pop album that recalls the sound of their debut studio album Faded Seaside Glamour (2004), with the addition of orchestral elements.
Everything's the Rush received generally favourable reviews from critics, some of whom commented on the musicianship and Gilbert's voice, while others were critical of Youth's production. The album peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart. Preceded by the Love Made Visible EP in late 2007, Delays went on a tour of the United Kingdom to close out the year. They opened 2008 with another UK tour, which led up to the release of the lead single from Everything's the Rush, "Hooray", in April 2008. A third UK tour followed, though some of the shows had to be cancelled due to frontman Greg Gilbert suffering from laryngitis. "Keep It Simple" was released as the album's second single in August 2008, surrounding appearances at various festivals.
Background and recording
Delays released their second studio album You See Colours in March 2006, which peaked at number 24 in the UK Albums Chart. Its two singles "Valentine" and "Hideaway" reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom, with the former charting the highest at number 23. The album's release was promoted with two tours of the UK (bookending either end of the year), and then a stint in the United States with toured the US alongside Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads. Sessions for the follow-up were held at Space Mountain in Sierra Nevada, Spain, with Martin "Youth" Glover producing and Clive Goddard handling recording; the pair were assisted by Joel Cormack. "Keep It Simple" was recorded at Mayfair Studios in London; recording lasted for 20 days in total.
Discussing the short turnover time, Aaron Gilbert said the band "didn't want to spend 2 days working on a guitar solo or something like that", avoiding the overanalysing that they did for You See Colours. Gilbert liked Youth's previous work with the likes of the Orb, Primal Scream and the Verve. He said the band and Youth worked on a schedule of 11AM to 2AM, where they had a "more Beatles-style ethic with him, so rather than thinking about guitar over-dubs, we did it on the spot". Cenzo Townshend mixed nearly all of the recordings, save for "Pieces", at Olympic Studios with assistance from Neil Comber. Michael Brauer mixed "Pieces" at Quad Studios in New York City, with assistance from Will Hensley, who also served as the Pro-Tools engineer. The album was then mastered by Tim Young.
Composition
Musically, the sound of Everything's the Rush has been described as indie pop, harking back to form of their debut studio album Faded Seaside Glamour (2004), with addition of orchestral elements. Fiona McKinlay of musicOMH said the synthesizer work on You See Colours are "now acting more like a (jolly good) support system for a sunnier band" on Everything's the Rush. Gilbert sung lead vocals on "One More Lie in", "Friends Are False" and "No Contest". Wil Malone arranged the string sections on "One More Lie in", "Pieces" and "Silence", with Perry Montague-Mason as the string leader. Warren Zielinski, Peter Lale, Tony Pleeth and Chris Laurence served as the principals of their respective sections (violin, viola, cello and double bass).
Everything's the Rush opens with the 1980s stadium rock atmosphere of "Girl's on Fire", reminiscent of the work of U2. "Hooray" was the first track Aaron Gilbert wrote after buying a new orchestra synthesizer for his computer; Greg Gilbert added lyrics about OCD, which he deals with. "Love Made Visible" is an electropop track that employs the use of a vocoder; "One More Lie In" deals with being lazy. "Keep It Simple" is a symphonic pop track in the vein of Manic Street Preachers. The ballad "Pieces" evokes the sound of the Verve's Urban Hymns (1997), and is followed by the celtic-esque "Touch Down". The Muse-lite progressive rock of "Friends Are False" recalled the band's own "Stay Where You Are", found on Faded Seaside Glamour, and is followed by the indie disco of "No Contest". The album concludes with the acoustic track "Jet Lag".
