As the sound of British new wave began to brighten the industrial North during the late 1970s, the city of Leeds earned a reputation as a salient point of response to the country's chronic economic recession. Tightly knit groups such as Gang of Four, the Mekons, and Delta 5 rose out of the realms of Leeds' universities and provided a social platform for its particularly politicized students. Ros Allen and Bethan Peters, both on bass and vocals, originally formed Delta 5 because they "felt left out" of the city's burgeoning music scene, although this apparent caprice quickly developed into reality with the addition of deadpan vocalist Julz Sale, guitarist Alan Riggs, and one-time Gang of Four drummer Kelvin Knight.

Gang of Four received considerable recognition during this period, and they were name-checked throughout the recent post-punk revival. Despite Delta 5's musical similarity, the group remained on the sidelines, without much commercial success. This assortment of early Rough Trade singles, Peel sessions, and live recordings, shows just how effective the group's tense, barbed breed of dark pop was-- and it's a shame that this is only being fully recognized in hindsight. The disc opens with their first single and best known track, "Mind Your Own Business", and runs in chronological order through A and B sides, ending on an atypically visceral plea for individuality on "Colour". With their unusual, dub-heavy rhythmic section and acerbic stagger of triple female vocals, Delta 5 articulated a variety of textures and approaches to song structure. Riggs' guitar is particularly striking, providing an expressive attack of tones that cut through the sharp social commentary with stingingly sweet precision. And while the vocals have a distinctly monochromatic and disdainful edge, they are never devoid of character and the dialogue between the women is carried by their assertively sarcastic wit. This paradox of astringency and humor provides rich yet unsentimental facets for topics ranging from infidelity and feminism to suspicion. Most importantly, though, this is music you can really dance to-- tracks such as "You" and "Triangle" practically command movement from the listener from the first insistent beat.

The purpose of Singles & Sessions is to document Delta 5's short existence in a coherent format, since most of their early vinyl is out of print. But the strength and vitality of this collection of songs is also a point of frustration. Had this been released as the group's album in 1981, instead of the over produced and comparatively weak See The Whirl?, Delta 5 would have created a debut as impressive and culturally resonant as Entertainment!. As it is however, this excellent compilation has given new life to a brief, great band almost lost within the fug of post-punk's prolific heyday.