Colfax. I don't think I can start a Delines review with any other word. Colfax was not simply a great album, but, for me, one of the best albums released this century. A set of elegant nocturnal melodies, a heartbreaking ode to a warm Friday night, it was sung in Amy Boone's narcotic voice infused with all the romance and tragedy of an American city. "I Won't Slip Up". "He Told Her the City Was Killing Him". "82nd Street". I am already in tears.
The Delines are something of a supergroup, but do not let that scare you away. They are not just about having a great time in the studio - for once, they are about the songs. Classic, old-fashioned songs done in the self-described style of 'retro country'. The principal songwriter is Richmond Fontaine's Willy Vlautin, who has always had a knack for writing tunes of profound sadness and world-weary charm. Add to that pedal steel guitars, late-night vibes and Amy Boone's vocals - and there you have it, music that will never stop seeping into your bloodstream.
Then came Scenic Sessions, a limited-release breather of an album which nonetheless had a couple of knockout originals from Vlautin ("Cool Your Boots" is one of his best). And then, in 2016, came a car accident which involved Amy Boone, and which put the Delines' career on indefinite hold.
The Imperial, whose low-key release in the dead of January I almost missed, is another example of classic, slow-burning understatement. Impeccable, though not sterile, production. Nocturnal tunes. Lyrics of oblique hope and bleak despair. And that voice which seems to take it all in: the style, the tunes and, of course, the lyrics. I mean, how much of a chance do you give that couple from "Let's Be Us Again"?..
Starting with the light colours of its cover and ending with the songs (all good, with "That Old Haunted Place" being my personal favourite), The Imperial is a perfect companion piece to Colfax. It has all the lyrical drama and all the tired melodicism that made the Delines so special in the first place. The Imperial is a brilliant and a devastating record. After all, there is so little that the upbeat melody of "Eddie & Polly" can hide.
