Following up their sparkling 2004 debut was always going to be an unenviable mission for the Delays. With its euphoric tunes just as much influenced by Fleetwood Mac as the Cocteau Twins, here was an unashamedly pop record which stood out from the pack. 'You See Colours' is, if anything, even more strident with popular melody but this time with 80s-style synths pushed to the forefront. It begins splendidly with the heady ecstacy of 'You And Me' and 'Valentine' is just about perfect; it's a brave, disco-flavoured number which explodes into a wonderful chorus helped along by Greg Gilbert's unusual croaking choirboy vocals. Yet after this outstanding start, 'You See Colours' becomes rather homogenised; the melodies are there but nowhere near as strong or memorable and the likes of 'Hideaway' are so simplistic as to be considered boy-band fodder. Even an attempt to rock out on 'Lillian' is similary uninspired. An unlikely exception - given its title - is the closing ballad 'Waste Of Space' which manages to recapture the lush dreaminess of the first album. Yet overall, maybe a little more time spent on the songwriting rather than the glossy production would have resulted in a brighter record than this.