"Tempered; Not Tamed" off The Delgados' 1997 debut album, Domestiques, begins with a French-language shoutout to Chemikal Underground Records. The band wasn't just promoting the label that their core songwriting duo, Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward, started in the early 90s; they were also giving props to the then-nascent Scottish scene, which included Chemikal signees Arab Strap, Bis, and Mogwai, and which peaked during the latter part of that decade. Of the acts on Chemikal Underground, The Delgados weren't always the most popular or critically acclaimed-- in fact, it wasn't until the turn of the current decade that they rose from the ranks with their Dave Fridmann-produced albums, The Great Eastern and Hate-- but The Delgados were always able to compete with any of the bands they signed and promoted, as handily proved by this reissue of Domestiques, which is not remastered (and doesn't need to be) but includes five bonus tracks, improved artwork, and two videos.
It seems odd to compare these early songs to the band's more recent work, as they could belong to another band entirely. Despite the presence of Pollack and Woodward's familiar vocals, the approach and the sound are completely different: Instead of the well-polished cacophony of their last two albums, Domestiques has a much rawer, looser sound, almost punk in the songs' straightforward structures and simple energy. But the album contains the seeds of its successors. Woodward's acoustic meditations on "One More Question" and "Smaller Mammals" prefigure Peloton, while tracks like "Strathcona Slung" and "Akumulator" showcase the same kind of singalong, hoist-your-pint choruses the band has since perfected.
Like fellow Brits like Mojave 3, The Delgados alternate male and female vocals, occasionally playing them off each other. But it wasn't always this way: Domestiques is undeniably Pollock's album. The songs that prominently feature her vocals, such as "Big Business in Europe" and "Sucrose", are by far the record's best and most dynamic. Woodward, on the other hand, shows an inclination for meandering structures and half-developed ideas, and the concentration of his songs toward the end of Domestiques makes for a disappointing anticlimax.
The five bonus tracks reveal the range of sound and songwriting the band was willing to explore. "Monica Webster" and "Een Telf" are blistering, bratty punk, while "Bear Cub" allows Woodward to indulge his Pavement fixation. An early recording of "Thirteen Gliding Principles" makes an interesting contrast to the Dave Fridmann version on The Great Eastern, suggesting The Delgados were at least experimenting with sounds and time signatures as early as 1997, though it still sounds like a demo.
Domestiques makes a fine point of origin for the three albums and handful of singles that followed it, but it's more than just a curio for fans: At its best, the album exposes the roots of a scene that produced one generation of bands and influenced another, and showcases a young band trying to claim its own territory in both music and business. Still, its flaws reveal they had a long road ahead of them before they'd finally arrive.
