What do you think of when The Delgados are mentioned? Right: rich male vocals backed by conscripted children’s choirs. Which is why the new single, “Everybody Come Down,” from Universal Audio—and the current Track You Should Be Listening To Right Now—is a shock: female vocals and not an Eton collar in sight. (At least it was a shock to me, but as a DJ I only know them on a track-by-track basis; I’m sure devoted fans have spit out their scones to holler at me.) Anyway, Emma’s voice is warm and welcoming; I’d place it somewhere between Stars and Dressy Bessy, though not as cool as the former or as cutesy as the latter. The jangly instrumentation is nice too, but it takes a backseat to the delightful “Everybody come down / We can drive, we can race, we can celebrate space.” A sweet track to get psyched up to go out to, or to accompany your search for a diner on the way home the next morning. (There are supposedly downloads on The Delgados’ site, but you have to be a member of the mailing list. Less committed individuals can listen to “Everybody Come Down” here or request it here. D.C. residents should note that, despite being a U.K. act, The Delgados are coming to the Black Cat on Sunday, November 14th, with Crooked Fingers—an amazing double-billing that is not to be missed!)

Meanwhile on the concert front: hit Mouse Trap at the Black Cat on Saturday with Edward and Jill and got my Brit-pop fix. Returned on Monday for the Mountain Goats show. Joan of Arc’s new emphasis on layered percussion and polyrhythms was a nice surprise. My main impression of John Vanderslice was that he went on too long for a Monday night show when I had to work the next morning. (God, I’m so…old.) My viewing of the Mountain Goats was curtailed somewhat (see previous reference to having to work) but I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. As always, John Darnielle sounds like the product of an illicit liaison involving Bob Dylan and They Might Be Giants in Tallahassee bathroom. The poet of our generation? Maybe. The poet of waking up with vomit in your mouth, bugs under your skin, sharing a motel room for the third night in a row with five other people you didn’t like in the first place? God, yes.