by LORRAINE CARPENTER

What does hate sound like? For the Delgados, it's classic pop and orchestral grandeur riddled with melancholy and underhanded irony. Hate is their fourth album, recorded by Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai) and mixed by Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips), who also tweaked the band's majestic The Great Eastern, the album that eased them into the international market. But the Delgados have long made waves behind the scenes since founding the Chemikal Underground label in 1995, launching the careers of Bis, Mogwai and Arab Strap, among others. But, despite all their accomplishments, Emma Pollock (vocals, lyrics), Paul Savage (her husband, on drums), Alun Woodward (vocals, lyrics, guitar) and Stewart Henderson (bass) still have plenty to be hateful about. The Mirror rang up Pollock to discuss post-natal depression and the language of cycling.

Mirror: Cycling must be very important to you.

Emma Pollock: Well, Alun was particularly into cycling. He liked the idea of naming ourselves after a great cyclist, so we threw some of names into a hat and pulled out Pedro Delgado. He was an absolutely incredible cyclist and a real individual who had a very casual regard for the sport. Once he was actually an hour late for a race, and if it hadn't been for that he would have surely won. Alun was quite intrigued by that story.

M: I notice you abandoned the cycling-themed album titles after Domestiques [the cyclists who assist the team's star] and Peloton [the gang that follows the race's leader].

EP: I think a third try would have seemed overtired and we'd look like a ridiculous novelty band, every press shoot with us on bikes. We'd rather be honest and try to represent who we are as people and what our albums are actually about, which is why Hate is such an apt title.

M: Surely you don't hate each other.

EP: We argue a lot during recording, but it's got better recently. Peloton was an absolute nightmare by comparison. I was certainly more relaxed because of the pregnancy, which, in some respects, brings a sense of serenity over a female. You're aware that there's something much more important at stake and there's no point in arguing about anything else.

M: But, lyrically, the album is quite dark.

EP: When Alun and I wrote most of Hate, I was just coming out of having Ben, and it's a funny thing, giving birth. The media paints it as one of the greatest things to ever happen to someone, which I believe is true in the long run, but if you have a particularly difficult birth and you're not really ready for the stress levels and the shock factor, it really can knock you for six. Suddenly I was dead tired and suffering from post-natal depression. It's a very introspective thing that brings on an acute sense of paranoia and makes you look at things in a very dark, negative fashion. So the lyrics reflected how I was feeling but, ultimately, the album is a positive one because without appreciation of the darker side of life it's not as easy to fully appreciate the lighter side. Love and hate are two side of the same coin, really.

With Aereogramme at Café Campus
on Saturday, April 26, 7:30pm, $15

>> Music Listings