History From Below is the second full-length album dropping from San Diego’s Delta Spirit. The jury is still out on whether this one lives up to their debut output Ode To Sunshine, but it subtly journeys to an engaging schizo persona. You might even miss that aspect of this album if you’re not looking for it. Dubbed as a “hybrid of rock and northern soul”, DS pushes over fifty minutes of tracks ranging from a sunny throwback disposition in opener 9/11 to true Americana fit for outdoor porch lounging while sipping on homemade lemonade in Scarecrow. It’s a hodgepodge of loneliness and heartache, all the while finding room for unconventional multi-instrumental play, but once again, you have to be listening for it. Weaved in the tapestry in Salt In The Wound, Matthew Vasquez’s twang clearly on the edge ponders existentialism, but I prefer the sweet morbidity offered by his rasp in Vivian, where “Heaven is too cold without you (Vivian)”. Bassist Jonathan Jameson and percussionist Brandon Young randomly found their vocalist Vasquez, once street performer, on a bench somewhere belting tunes at two in the morning back in 2005. From then on the group of three along with Sean Walker and Kelly Winrich, garnered a following. From the album’s solid rock arrangements to Americana soul, there is one track that seems to ride out both genres, certainly in length but intensely in depth. Don’t miss out on Ballad of Vitaly, clocking in at over 8 minutes and closing History From Below flawlessly.
Key Tracks: Ballad of Vitaly, St. Francis, Vivian
Moods: Lively, Passionate, Earnest, Earthy, Gritty, Organic
Buy: History From Below
related
- Vivian Girls @ La Sala Rossa – 03.09.10
- Janelle Monáe – The ArchAndroid
- Bruise Cruise Ships You to the Bahamas with Black Lips, Vivian Girls
