I saw Delta Spirit live three years ago and was literally struck numb by their set. The group's collective energy, multi-instrument switcheroos, and the heartfelt emotion flowing from their songs was heart-pounding and entrancing.
Such is the energy and emotion captured in the group's second album, History From Below (Rounder), released June 8. In the three years since their self-released debut, the incredible this-is-all-you-will-listen-to-for-three-weeks Ode to Sunshine, Delta Spirit has moved into a real studio and given us eleven of the most captivating songs you will ever hear. Though they now sound polished, they haven't lost their essence. The Americana way of music has a new standard.
The album opener, "911", bounces around a tale of economic caution, appropriate in times like these (1929, anyone?), then plowing through comes "Bushwick Blues" with its pulsating rhythm but relatable message of human vulnerability. "Salt in the Wound" is one of those mind-reelingly personal songs you want to try to explain so people understand why you're crying but replaying it four times, but words just don't cut it. You have to let the song speak its multitudes for itself. Listen to this with headphones in a quiet space.
Delta Spirit is comprised of old souls who somehow know just what music can say to encourage the human race, why major-key melodies and hopeful anthems can help a person have endurance through the inevitability of heartbreak. "Randsom Man", "St. Francis", and "Ballad of Vitaly" quietly trudge through bravery, uncertainty, self-realization and unfair loss, but are so beautifully hopeful that I want to reach in and give singer Matt Vasquez a hug. He shouts and murmurs the lyrics like any man in crisis – rousing and intimate, he gets angry and frustrated and torn down by life, but pulls in the listener like a friend.
History From Below shines a light on the human condition, but offers a melancholy hope, as if to say, "Yep, life blows and storms are ahead, but we have life jackets."
History From Below Album Teaser: \\<\/iframe\>
Four stars
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.