Delta Spirit - History From Below reviews
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| Sputnikmusic |
 My most cherished bands have always appealed to me not only with a sense of timelessness but with a feeling of placelessness as well, as if they could be from anywhere or, even better, if they evoke the sound of a region or era without coming off as copycats or sycophantic rubes. By only their second album, Delta Spirit is already rapidly becoming one of my favorite unsigned bands, thanks largely to their ability to pull off just that aura of sounding like a region whose music I unabashedly love (the South) while hailing from a place I’d love to visit (San Diego). These are two dots one would likely not be able to connect listening to the band – singer Matthew Vasquez’s whiskey-soaked voice calls to mind the Allman Brothers Band or the cracked rasp of Walkmen vocalist Hamilton Leithauser, while the band pumps out a genuinely raucous Southern-fried blues rock that has matured well since their 2008 debut. History From Below is just what a sophomore effort should be, equal parts a step forward and eleven songs stronger, all the red-blooded rock and soulful vitality of their debut while expanding on their trademark Americana sound.
To be honest, there was nothing here that struck me as forcefully as Ode to Sunshine’s first single, “Trashcan,” nor nothing as quite as in-your-face raw as “People C’mon,” but unlike their debut, History From Below is quite the studio album, revealing more and more upon each subsequent listen. The band’s growth as songwriters is quite pronounced, as a listen to a slow burner like “White Table” or the flamenco spice on “St. Francis” makes apparent. Delta Spirit never would have tried the conceit of an eight-minute closer before like they do here, but “Ballad of Vitality” never crumbles under the weight of its own ambition, nor ever really feels like an eight-minute song, which is probably the greatest compliment I could give it. Swelling as it does from a campfire ballad to a charging blues beast, “Ballad of Vitality” exemplifies the band’s evolution from dyed-in-the-wool live performers to accomplished studio artists. That talent of transferring their backwoods bar-band vibe onto record isn’t something to be taken lightly, allowing a tune like “911,” one that fits best in a live setting, to coexist seamlessly with a acoustic ballad like “Scarecrow” without a hitch. It’s an impressive achievement, and one many bands that have made their name on the road have been unable to pull off....full text |
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| Allmusic |
| Delta Spirit scaled themselves back from five to four members before entering the studio to record their second album, History from Below, but the band doesn't sound any less powerful or expansive for losing a guitar player. If anything, History from Below sounds bigger and more ambitious, in terms of both the production and the performances; Delta Spirit (is that the name of a band or an airline?) have refined the melodies which weave together country and blues influences while letting the guitars speak louder, with a pop tunefulness that's leavened by smartly layered guitar work. Listen to the undertow of guitar noise that builds into a thundering storm on "Salt in the Wound," or the sheets of feedback and percussion that ebb and flow through "White Table," and it's clear Delta Spirit learned a lot about what to do with the studio in the two years that separated their debut and History from Below. However, despite a little more polish and a lot more expertise, what was most impressive about Delta Spirit's debut hasn't left them on their sophomore effort -- the songs are smart but straightforward, emotionally honest and accessible even when they're as ambitious as the eight-minute "Ballad of Vitaly," and Matthew Vasquez's vocals carry the weight of the group's rootsy influences without sounding as if he's pretending to be a rube. And "Bushwick Blues" and "Golden State" demonstrate Delta Spirit can rock a good bit harder this time out even as they add some new tricks to their musical arsenal. History from Below is clever, heartfelt, and well-crafted, and suggests this band is solidly building on the promise of their debut....full text |
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| Rollingstone |
| This San Diego foursome's rhythm section was in an emo band called Noise Ratchet; as Delta Spirit, they've embraced rootsiness but maintained that gloomy emo urgency: It's no surprise that their second disc opens with a mordant evocation of 9/11. Frontman Matthew Vasquez wraps his harried croak around folk rock that recalls darkest Bright Eyes, raining doom like a black-hatted backwoods preacher with images of blood and chains. The murder-stuffed "Ballad of Vitaly" pushes rustic miserablism to an extreme. But they've kept some of the noise from their youth: "Bushwick Blues" is a great punk-rock addition to the canon of lost-in-NYC songs....full text |
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