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Delta Spirit

Delta Spirit

Written by: TL on 08/05/2012 16:44:12

About one and a half years ago, I made my first acquaintance with California-based indie/americana quintet Delta Spirit, when they released their sophomore album "History From Below". That album wasn't bad, so when I recently saw a copy of their new album - titled merely "Delta Spirit" - I decided to jump at it and see how the band has progressed since last time.

One one hand, things are still rather the same, with the band still taking elements from traditional American music - many of which sound like something you could also find on a Ryan Adams record - and yet they're slightly different, because on "Delta Spirit" the band seems to be increasingly trying to put things together in a way that's slightly more up-beat and fresh. Synths have earned a more prominent role in the soundscape which has otherwise been dominated by more oldschool elements, and the result of the modernisation is that Delta Spirit now more than ever sound like popular American (indie)rock bands like Kings Of Leon, Cold War Kids and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

In my opinion this is indeed a step up for the band, who previously seemed troubled by trying to fuse the minimalist atmospheres of country with more ambitious instrumental arrangements and coming out not really benefitting from the strengths of either. Then things are better now that they have seemingly commited more to being lighter in feeling, even while going for much richer instrumental compositions, as can be heard especially in album standouts like "California" and "Tellin' The Mind".

When that's been said however, I still feel like Delta Spirit live at a level slightly below their main contemporaries. They don't really have the strength of personality to deserve mentioning alongside bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, nor are their songs as consistently good and catchy as those of Kings Of Leon and Cold War Kids for instance. If you can live with that and still have a desire for a variation on the sounds of those bands however, "Delta Spirit" is another chill listen from a band that comes recommended especially for people who'd care for some indie/country/rock with instrumentation somewhat out of the ordinary.

Download: California, Tellin' The Mind
For The Fans Of: Cold War Kids, Kings Of Leon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ryan Adams
Listen: facebook.com/Deltaspirit

Release Date 13.03.2012
Rounder / Concord / Decca / Dew Process