Following the atmospheric storytelling of Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom, The Delines return with The Set Up—a cinematic, unvarnished, and deeply human collection of songs that peers into the lives of bruised and wandering souls on the American fringe. Where Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom drifted with romantics running the highways, The Set Up moves into darker, more solitary territory. Once again produced by John Morgan Askew—whose gift for sculpting immersive, lived-in soundscapes is felt in every corner—this new record broadens the band’s Americana palette. The album is due out via Jealous Butcher Records (US) Décor Records (UK/EU) on March 6th, 2026.
The seeds of The Set Up were planted as The Delines wrapped the Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom sessions. Willy Vlautin brought in a new song, “Walking With His Sleeves Down,” which Amy Boone learned on piano before the band recorded it live. Her performance was stunning, but the song’s restless loneliness didn’t fit the drifting romance of Luck & Doom, so it was set aside. Vlautin then introduced “The Reckless Life,” which matched the sonic world but diverged lyrically. Both songs pulled listeners toward characters living on the edge—users, drifters, the shaken and the stranded—rather than toward the doomed romantics at the heart of Luck & Doom. So they were shelved, and the album was finished without them.
But while touring Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom, Vlautin kept writing. The ongoing toll of the opioid crisis—the young people living in tents, in cars, in old RVs; the communities worn thin by addiction—continued to seep into his stories. These themes had influenced Luck & Doom, but now they pointed toward a different emotional terrain. Not the couple on the run, but the aftermath. Not the getaway, but the fallout. That’s where The Set Up lives. Songs like “Dilaudid Diane,” “The Reckless Life,” “Jumping Off in Madras,” and “Walking With His Sleeves Down” all inhabit that shadowed landscape.
“Dilaudid Diane” emerges as one of the band’s most devastating moments—a song inspired by the widespread struggles with addiction and the fragile young lives caught in its wake. Recorded live around a single mic, it blends doo-wop hues with the ache of a folk protest song, all carried by Amy Boone’s unmistakable voice.
Tracklist:
The Set Up Part 1
Can You Get Me Out Of Phoenix?
Jumping Off In Madras
Dilaudid Diane
Keep The Shades Down
Getting Out Of The Ward
The Set Up Part 2
The Reckless Life
Walking With His Sleeves Down
The Meter Keeps Ticking
The Set Up Part 3
The Last Time I Saw Her
