The heralded roots band Delta Spirit took an extended break after supporting their 2014 Into the Wide. It took some time for the originally Southern Californian-based band of five independent, divergent thinkers to find common ground again. On the band-produced What Is There, the acclaimed Tchad Blake (U2, Black Keys, Richard Thompson, Los Lobos) was brought in to mix the effort , recorded at the Sonic Ranch outside El Paso, TX and dedicated to the memory of their friend and musical inspiration Richard Swift.
During the extended break, leader Matthew Logan Vasquez has released and toured behind three solo albums and was part of Glorietta. He offers this, “The Matthew Logan Vasquez project was a huge learning experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to somewhat start from scratch. I learned how to be a better leader, how to ask for help, I gained so much more gratitude toward our fans and my experience in Delta Spirit “The rest of the band certainly kept their chops up, and we’ve all developed in positive directions. Resentments are replaced with deeper love and understanding for each other. At least that’s what we’re striving for.” Multi-instrumentalist Kelly Winrich launched a career as producer, while bassist Jonathan Jameson, guitarist Will McLaren, and drummer Brandon Young collaborated and toured with Sam Outlaw, Mikky Ekko, The Los Angeles band Muna, among others. The band members now call Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Austin, and Montreal home. They did reconvene for a jam session in Brooklyn in 2018 and found their old spark again. The break and some newfound maturity fueled these sessions which find the band forging into new territory.
Getting to some of the material, “How Bout It,” is an edgy, dark murder ballad about a gambling addiction. Vasquez wrote the song on an iPad using GarageBand. “I had recently realized that I could use the microphone in my headphones to sing into it. I spent all day walking around Oslo singing to myself, and I’m sure the people around me thought I was completely nuts,” he says. “A contributing factor to that hypothesis was I that had my parka hood pulled over so they couldn’t see the headphones.” There is an accompanying video (above) that is getting some buzz that was directed by Michael Parks Randa and shot during the Covid-19 pandemic at more than 30 locations throughout North America. Randa directed 30 people across the country to safely document portraits of Americans in isolation, including the five band members who all now live in different cities. After only playing two shows in their latest chapter, the pandemic left the band, well known for its live show, on the sidelines.
Another single is the piano-driven, infectious “It Ain’t Easy,” replete with pop hooks and charming harmonies. A third single is “Home Again” (a sequel to 2012’s “Home”?) where they cite John Prine in the lyrics. “There is a reference to ‘Angel from Montgomery,’” Vasquez notes. “We were booked to support him at Luck Reunion at Willie Nelson‘s ranch during this year’s SXSW. It was a bummer losing the opportunity to share a stage, and certainly, we were all crushed to hear about his passing. Topically, the song is about being gone for a living. If we wanted to continue down the Prine analogy, you could say it was the cat from the Cowboy’s perspective as opposed to the Angel’s.” The accompanying video manages to illustrate the upbeat energy of the song, with images of the band enjoying time with their respective families. Vasquez goes on to share that the track was written while his family was living in Norway, before moving back home to Austin. Obviously, it serves as a reunion statement for the band as well.
The album has a Side A and Side B feel to it with the first half comprised of layered, dense tunes as is mixer Blake’s penchant. Side B (if you will) lightens the sonics a bit, giving the band more room to breathe and, for these ears, an easier listening experience. Tunes such as “Making Sense” and “Lover’s Heart” flow smoothly and gently. “Just the Same” is the essence of their less adorned folk-rock sound while the closing acoustically strummed Vasquez title track brings a quiet mystery fitting its title. This is a band, like most, that likes to tour to fully capitalize on their varied talents. Hopefully, that time is not eons away but in the meantime, we can get reacquainted with Delta Spirit.
