The Delines “Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom”

The Delines are back with a record that features musical storytelling at its finest.

Back on 15th May 2008, the extremely talented and very lovely Tift Merritt was playing an intimate gig at the National Centre for Early Music in York, when an audience member asked Merritt to play ‘Sunday‘, a song from her debut long player, “Bramble Rose“. Merritt responded, “You know that song’s a short novel?” referring to the song’s length. It’s interesting then that Willy Vlautin writes what are pretty much short novels for most of The Delines’ songs; the songs feature characters and situations that are believable and precisely described in the songs’ lyrics, it’s musical storytelling at its finest.

Of course, Vlautin is also adept at penning the long form of novels, too, being the author of seven books, going back to “The Motel Life” in the mid-noughties, which was subsequently adapted for a film of the same name. One of Vlautin’s subsequent books, 2021’s “The Night Always Comes” spawned a soundtrack album by The Delines, for which a CD version came packaged with some editions of the book and a vinyl version followed as a strictly limited Record Store Day release in 2023.

Described as a Portland-based country-soul band, The Delines are long-time favourites of Americana UK, and their numerous accolades include the record “The Sea Drift” being ranked the AUK Album Of The Year for 2022. The band was formed after Vlautin (originally from Reno, Nevada), heard Amy Boone singing; he decided to write songs for her to sing then asked her to start a band. The Delines are far more than simply a vehicle for Vlautin’s sublime lyrics however; their success is also formed around Boone’s amazing, expressive voice and her delivery to tell the stories, the sound textures and song arrangements, including keyboards, strings and horns.

On to 2025 and “Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom“, which was recorded at Bocce Studios with long-time collaborator John Morgan Askew (who has also worked with artists such as Neko Case, M. Ward, Margo Cilker and Alela Diane). In addition to Vlautin’s guitar playing and Boone on vocals, the album features Sean Oldham on drums, Freddy Trujillo bass and Cory Gray who plays and arranges horns and keyboards.

After a particular gig in Dublin, Boone said to Vlautin, “Listen man, you have to write me a straight up love song where no one dies and nothing goes wrong or I’m going to lose my mind.” Vlautin took the suggestion on board and responded by writing a romantic ballad about a failed criminal and a depressive house cleaner who somehow found each other; it became the LP’s opening song, ‘Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom‘. Vlautin admits to being a fan of ballads, particularly those written by Randy Newman and Tom Waits.

‘Her Ponyboy‘ is a tragic tale of a young couple travelling across the USA. Ponyboy Curtis was a fictional character in SE Hinton’s 1967 novel “The Outsiders” and the opening lines to the song are “She said he was her real life Ponyboy, I told her “Ponyboy was made up by a sixteen year old girl”“.

Lead single from the album ‘Left Hook Like Frazier‘ is terrific; more uptempo than most others on the record, with the trumpet and electric piano prominent. The song is a tale of love (kind of), but about how women with broken hearts can sometimes get caught up in situations that break them even more; as Boone sings “She fell for a man who had a sadness he couldn’t beat, But she took care of him and put up with that still he dragged her into the deep, And that man in Tacoma kept her in a place for a while, He had a wife and kids, a left hook like Frazier and words that hit just as hard“.

There are two songs about Lorraine on the record, the first, ‘Don’t Miss Your Bus Lorraine‘, is about a woman who is back in town after spending three years ‘downstate’ (in prison) due to marijuana convictions; she finds that while she has been away, things have moved on, to a point where marijuana is legal, but she can’t find a decent job due to her criminal record. The second single release is ‘The Haunting Thoughts‘; starting with a nice bass guitar line, it’s about a character reflecting on their life and her fears, closing with the lines “I try to remember that the haunting thoughts, Are just thoughts that are haunting me“. While ‘Nancy & the Pensacola Pimp‘ tells the fascinating story of a woman who gets revenge on the pimp who had controlled her since she was sixteen years old.

‘Maureen’s Gone Missing‘ is another uptempo song, with a 1960s feel, it’s driven along by the bass line and has a catchy, singalong chorus. The subject is a woman who robs a drug operation and skips town. The LP closes with the short ‘Don’t Go Into That House Lorraine‘ . We’re back with Lorraine and Boone repeatedly implores her not to enter ‘that’ house; one can only imagine what’s inside. The music adds to the sense of foreboding.

This a high-quality record that deserves your attention; the songs are exquisite as usual, the arrangements and musicianship superb, and Boone is sounding better than ever on this release.