Words by: Bridjet Mendyuk
Soulful without being twangy and full of southern inspiration, The Delta Saints have turned their self-proclaimed “bourbon-fueled bayou-rock” into a cohesive remedy of alternative rock with indie sensibility. The band have just released their record Monte Vista via AudioTree Music on April 28, 2017 and while the group could be pushed into the caverns of comparison of the Kings Of Leon’s of the world, the band set themselves apart with their sense of consistency and wonder.
The record is full of synth moments and love tracks all while lead singer Ben Ringel keeps his voice within a specific range adding consistency and familiarity. Using each track as a vessel to diversify the record, there are many tempo transitions and guitar breaks not commonly used in wash-and-dry rock or country rock. The album starts off with “California,” a song full of tone variety and age-old lyrics about-you guessed it-California. The track does offer blues adjacent vocals with heavier guitar transitions, similar to if The Black Crowes and Modest Mouse made a track together. The next couple tracks, “Sun God”, “Burning Wheels” and “Are You” echo of Incubus-like rock elements meets The Black Cadillacs. While there are slower tracks like “Crows” and “Roses”, the latter shows the band in their true form: southern blues with indie style. The track stands out with synth flair, wide range in Ringel’s tone and enough guitar picking to show the band aren’t just your average country rock group. Even “Space Man” is a little reminiscent of the flower power decade, which seems to have an overlying film on the record being pulled through in sections of tracks.
“Young and Crazy” stands out as a strong song, a track with variation in guitar and fun lyrics that echo the band’s Nashville roots. Who doesn’t love a song about being young and crazy? The outros fall a little short compared to the rest of the record, which booms for fans of crossover blues rock and indie rock. The band are on tour now and are not to be missed for fans of classic rock, indie rock, blues rock, alternative rock—basically, all crossover genres of rock. With that in mind, who wouldn’t be a fan of Monte Vista? The album is 37 minutes of perfect bonfire side blues with the chutzpah of young rock in mind.
Favorite tracks: “Young and Crazy”, “California”
