"This is a very nomadic album," says Johnny Delaware "I recorded it in studios at home in Mexico City and on the road in the United States and in hotel rooms all across Latin America" - It makes perfect sense, then, that Delaware would call his new collection Para Llevar, which translates roughly as "to go" or "to take." Drawn from Delaware's years of journeying--both physically around the world and internally to find himself--the record blends elements of Laurel Canyon and Latin America with dreamy, psychedelic production to forge a mesmerizing cultural swirl that transcends borders and traditions.
Delaware produced the record himself in addition to playing nearly all of the instruments, and the result is a deeply personal exploration of human nature through the eyes of an itinerant observer, an intoxicating meditation on the doubt and hope and fear and love and loneliness that bind us all, no matter where we call home.
Born and raised in South Dakota, Delaware spent his 20s drifting around the US before eventually landing in Charleston, SC, where he recorded his 2013 debut, Secret Wave. The record earned glowing reviews, but it was another Charleston project Delaware helped co- found, Susto, that soon took center stage, garnering raves from Rolling Stone and Spin and landing tour dates with the likes of The Lumineers, Band of Horses, and The Head and the Heart. After moving to Mexico City, Delaware relaunched his solo career with 2022's similarly well-received Energy Of Light.
The Delines fourth record, came from a night in Dublin, Ireland, when singer Amy Boone asked Willy Vlautin to write a romantic tune. It’s the story of two ragged misfits: a failed criminal and a depressive house cleaner who somehow hit the lottery in meeting each other. With that song the soul of the record was found: ragged couples on the run. Recording began at Bocce Studios with longtime collaborator John Morgan Askew. The record features Amy Boone’s lush, world worn voice, the cinematic production skills of Askew, and the horn and string arrangement of Delines keyboardist and trumpeter, Cory Gray. This is wide screen, CinemaScope, Delines at their best.
Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom is the Delines most realized and strongest album to date, a record of romantic misfits and grifters who live out of suitcases and cars, who can’t seem to settle down, who hope that in the next town or city will be the score that saves them. Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom features the stalwart Delines line up: Amy Boone on vocals, Cory Gray on horns and keyboards, Sean Oldham on drums, Freddy Trujillo on bass, and Willy Vlautin on guitar.
My Life, Americana trailblazer Iris DeMent’s sophomore album, cemented her legacy as one of the nation’s greatest living songwriters. Dedicated to her father, Patrick Shaw DeMent, who died in 1992, the album illustrates DeMent’s razorsharp songwriting on originals like “Sweet Is the Melody,” “No Time to Cry” and the title track. The songs “are jewels of universal longing” (Chicago Tribune) and “it is nearly impossible to exaggerate the beauty of these recordings.” (AllMusic). The album is being officially reissued for the first time for its 30th anniversary, pressed on maroon color vinyl and remastered by Mike Westbrook of MW Audio. The lacquer is cut by renowned mastering engineer Kevin Gray and is pressed at the state-of-the-art audiophile facilities at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, North Carolina. This pressing is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide.