Delgados, The Vinyl Records
While failing to earn the same critical renown and cultish devotion lavished upon countrymen Belle & Sebastian or Mogwai, the Delgados were in many respects the true epicentre of the contemporary Scottish pop renaissance. Through their renowned Chemikal Underground label, the group not only launched the careers of acts from Bis to Arab Strap, but their own recordings rank among the most sublime pop experiences in recent memory, blossoming from the lo-fi simplicity of their earliest work to an increasingly ambitious palette defined by achingly beautiful melodies, soaring string arrangements, and intricate waltztime rhythms.