Delta Rae is a lie. Sure, the Durham outfit’s lightweight folk-pop is accessible — enough so to garner a deal from major label Warner Brothers’ subsidiary Sire Records. The company released the band’s 2012 effort, Carry the Fire, only three years into the band’s young career. But Delta Rae postures as though its merger of mainstream accessibility with traditional elements of folk and blues is somehow revelatory.
The group sets videos, namely the clip for Carry the Fire‘s “Bottom of the River,” on plantations, simplifying complex racial histories in pursuit of shock value. Delta Rae traps its cookie-cutter pop with ragged but uninspired strums and litters it with overused symbols pilfered from the South’s rich musical heritage. Thus far, the band, which will perform at the Visulite Theatre on March 9, has done a poor job of hiding these shortcomings.
Take the band’s recent collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham. As pop innovators go, few have proven as ambitious or successful as Buckingham. As the guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, he helped produce the lush sound that made Rumours, in 1977, one of the most successful LPs of all time. The group’s 1979 follow-up, Tusk, saw him taking total control of production, fusing the Mac’s stadium pop with aggressive psychedelic flourishes and the modular style pioneered by The Beach Boys, creating a truly unique mix of contrasting elements that he has continued to refine in his subsequent solo career.
He joins Delta Rae for the radio release of “If I Loved You,” a particularly uninspired bit of saccharine folk-pop from Carry the Fire. Buckingham does his best to invigorate the tune, replacing the original’s placid strumming with nervy jangles that move with the Mac’s lively bounce, but all this accomplishes is to highlight how cloying Delta Rae’s emotional knee jerks are next to a band so profoundly dramatic as Fleetwood Mac.
The major-label success that brought on this collaboration likely sprung from North Carolina’s prominence in a growing national trend. Concord’s Avett Brothers, active since the beginning of the millennium, have capitalized on the creative energy of their namesake leaders and siblings, Seth and Scott Avett, injecting the traditional Carolina sounds of country and bluegrass with punk-inspired force and outsized emotions. The style struck a chord with area listeners, making the Brothers a regional favorite and eventually netting them a deal with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings.
By the time the Avetts made it big, several similar outfits were also dominating the airwaves. At the head of the pack is the surprisingly British Mumford & Sons, whose most recent effort Babel was named Album of the Year at this year’s Grammys. Blowing the aggressive shambles from quickly played guitars and banjos into a sound as oversized — and hollow — as their countrymen in Coldplay, Mumford & Sons suggest that America’s current obsession with music that stuffs modern styles with the hallmarks of their forbears might be reaching the point of diminishing returns.
Delta Rae certainly lends credence to that notion. The band keys on the trend, but works with more obvious stylistic pairings. “Holding On to Good,” which opens Carry the Fire, opts for the kind of simplistic strums and perfectly dull harmonies that dominate the mainstream-country boredom of bands like Sugarland in a feeble attempt to add new flavor to by-the-numbers piano chords and a chorus that falls far short of the stadium-sized glory to which it aspires.
Delta Rae and its handlers know what they’re doing. Formed around three well-piped siblings — one of which, Brittany Hölljes, happens to be a platinum-blonde beauty — the band has a familial backstory — a publicity coup — that matches that of the Avetts. Delta Rae’s songs are always well-constructed, precisely whittling down blue-eyed soul, mainstream pop and nondescript Americana until all that remains are the styles’ lowest common denominators.
This should be doubly frustrating for North Carolinians. Our state is home to several bands pursuing genuinely ambitious combinations of the new and the old. Take Charlotte’s Overmountain Men. Led by David Childers, an institution in Tar Heel songwriting who played with the regionally respected Modern Don Juans, the group was sparked by his collaboration with Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford. On the Overmountain Men’s newly released sophomore effort, The Next Best Thing, they turn a modern eye toward traditional sounds. The diverse outfit dabbles in Pete Seeger-inspired folk ballads, Drive-By Truckers country-rock and moments of reverent old-time picking, allowing each style to remain distinct, basking in the variety of American music.
Accentuating this authenticity, Childers turns his luxurious baritone to very real history for lyrical inspiration. “To the Warmer Lands,” for instance, tells the story of a pro-British soldier in the Battle of Kings Mountain, a Revolutionary War conflict fought in North Carolina by Childers’ ancestors.
Hiss Golden Messenger, which hails from Delta Rae’s Durham home base, prefers to tangle its various modern and traditional influences. Built on the earthy croon and keen songwriting of M.C. Taylor, the group’s songs most often contend with spirituality. Taylor struggles to find a middle ground between his own open-minded view of Christianity and the strict tenets endorsed by a literal interpretation of the Bible. “Oh conqueror,” he sings on the track “Sufferer (Love My Conqueror),” addressing his grievances with his god. “If I’m your sufferer/ Oh, I’ll break every lock on every door/ And run like a thief/ Like a thief into the night/ Oh, I crave the golden sunlight.” The song, a standout from the band’s forthcoming album, Haw, moves with a stomping blues bass line offset by ominous strings and effect-drenched guitar. It seems at once futuristic and pastoral, mirroring the conflict in Taylor’s words.
Delta Rae and a host of similar bands act as though they’re mining conflicts that are just as essential and divisive, but they’re more interested in cliched symbols than any real substance. Take “Dance in the Graveyards,” which trots out its titular image and ideas about celebrating death as though Delta Rae is the first group to contend with this basic concept. This is a band that wants you to think it’s pursuing combinations that are both daring and unique when it’s really just rehashing the same inoffensive drivel, hoping you’ll feel intelligent for liking something that aspires to unite the past and present. Yes, friends, Delta Rae is a lie.
This article appears in Mar 6-12, 2013.
“This is a band that wants you to think it’s pursuing combinations that are both daring and unique when it’s really just rehashing the same inoffensive drivel, hoping you’ll feel intelligent for liking something that aspires to unite the past and present.”
When Delta Rae does it, they’re copy cats. When Chapel Hill no-names do it, they’re sophisticated and subtle:
“They are a very sophisticated and subtle band hiding their involved machinations behind pop music meant to sound, once again, elegant and elementary.”
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-kingsbury-manxs-bronze-age/Content?oid=3344790
This is what modern music journalism is about, folks: social stratification. Both quotes refer to arguments of intent, which are of course based on assumptions the author makes. You’re not reading this to know what Delta Rae sounds like (you’re not missing anything, trust me) — you’re reading this as a means of social division.
It’s very convenient to hide these sorts of arguments in vague terms related to subjective listening of music. But it doesn’t change the fact that time and time again, these sorts of publications hate on the popular and vouch for the underdog. You may say, ‘but this band deserves the attention!’ or ‘this band’s attention is undeserved!’ Both have an underlying social agenda that is not journalistic, but promotional.
And that’s why this shit is garbage/music journalism is a joke/etc etc
Delta Rae is a lie? Wow. I am guessing this Jordan couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket if his/her (who the fuck cares) life depended on it. Any idiot with ears can tell these 6 individuals are talented and will go far. Get out of NC and see the world ya moron
Forget the content of this article in general, this is poor writing. This sounds like a college compare and contrast essay for Music Journalism 101. I hope your other articles are more captivating, researched, and less repetitive. As a fellow Tarheel I would only hope that this is the case. Total Snoozefest dude. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Seems to me you are a little crass in your description of Delta Rae. Do they (some of which) being graduates of Duke University and you having graduated from UNC (arch collegiate rivals) contribute to your harsh criticism of them? Just saying, everyone’s entitled to their opinion but in my opinion you suck, Jordan Lawrence !!!!
Can Jordan Lawrence handle the truth?? You’re a lousy writer, penning an article I’ve had to read three times to get some kind of grip on. The only clear thing is this – you are one of the VERY few “critics” who hasn’t fallen in love with this band. You obviously are about nothing more than shock value by criticizing that which you don’t feel “daring” enough for us poor souls with pitiful musical tastes. Perhaps you’re a bit jealous that a talented band is making the national scene after just three years of crafting their art, while after the same amount of experience, you sit writing freelance articles for a few independent rags and a music magazine no one has ever heard of.
Why would Jordan think his reviews are credible? Why is he so bitter? Maybe he wishes he could be as beautiful, smart, and real as Delta Rae. Maybe they are just trying their best to make it in the music world. Maybe his “daring” reviews are how he sees himself making it in journalism, maybe he is just insecure
Dude the worse face you can show is a jealous one, my advise is stop reviewing them if you hate them so much it makes you look pathetic.
typical envious and jealous debbie downer critic. Those who can’t do, criticize. No accounting for taste
Saw Delta Rae up close in Chicago. Loved them, no small reason being that they clearly exhibited what I can only describe as passionate joy for what they were doing, and they had an uncanny ability to draw the audience inside their joy. And don’t get totally distracted by the platinum blonde reference; the other woman singer is a ball of dynamite. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.
AMEN! This group is a joke, pigs with lipstick. Generic crap music put out there by labels. And they obviously got a record deal through connections and not legitimate talent, they get signed after a few years together? Come on. There are plenty of other groups out there that are real and put in the work and grind show after show with no money to show for it. Their limited potential will soon peak and no one will remember them in a few years.
This is definitely a “blonde” group. Ugh. Do they really believe it’s so amazing when they bang on a trash can during their shows and tap drumsticks together? Oh wow.
Saw Delta Rae this past weekend Fredrick, MD. I was quite disappointed. We had never heard of them but were under the impression that they played folk/Americana. Instead we were mostly treated a whole bunch of pop-infused, generic noise with laughable gimmicks. They are all very talented musicians, but I wish they would play better music. Of course, I understand that no one is going to become a millionaire playing bluegrass and roots music, so I can’t blame them for playing this drivel in an effort to make it big — I’d do the same.
I don’t usually write and post comments like this.
But after reading Jordan Lawrence’s nonsensical review, and after doing my diligence, so-to-speak (listening to most of the players he uses as yardsticks), I felt compelled to put pen to paper so-to-speak. I’ve seen Delta Rae perform many times over the years since they first began their earnest touring.
From the start it was clear to anyone who understands or even just enjoys music at all – and especially what it takes to write and perform consistently excellent new and improved music – that this is an amazingly talented musical ‘family,’ and an amazingly hard working one at that…
I’ve watched Delta Rae as they have grown from a new band finding and developing their own ‘sound’ and as they have knocked the stuffings out of themselves to tour like madmen, to polish themselves and gain the experience necessary to become a top flight act. I watched with pleasure as they were bootstrapped by fans in the funding if their first CD (“Carry the Fire”), and how they took it and ran with it, seemingly turning into a polished and dear act overnight – something that only comes from an extraordinary mixture of raw talent, absolutely positive intentionality, and wonderfully contagious and effusive energy, which they transmit to the crowds throughout every performance – to the joy and deep pleasure of all present. If you were to tour with them, I don’t think you would find a bad show, or an audience who come away from “the Delta Rae experience,” anything less than a fan of sorts.
I’ve been watching Delta Rae happen for years now… and there is a clear reason for their continued improvement and polish, and their steadily rising popularity; having met them a number of times, I can tell you that to the last person, they are an absolutely genuine and wonderful set of human beings, who give everything of themselves to their music – saturating all that they write and play with a deep kind of heart, commitment and surrender that is all too often missing from music today – having been slowly lost over the decades. These very present six individuals bring real depth – each in their own individual right – and their deepest selves to everything that they do.
I had the pleasure of spending the first part of my life as a (reasonably successful) musician in the 60s and (very) early 70s, and got to know many kindred acts. Some were more than amazedly talented writers and performers, and some not quite. But he difference was always plain to see. And that “difference” has slowly evaporated from the music industry over the years, leaving a kind of cloying sameness. Well, clearly, based upon my experience, and experience listening to Delta Rae, I can tell you that they are entirely a class act They write from the depths of their (cumulative) hearts, and they “sing what they mean and mean what they sing.” They really ‘walk their talk’…
It is clear that Jordan Lawrence’s (and many of his other parrots here), just like to write the meaningless trash that they do, for self-justification and/or to hear themselves talk, trying to make themselves important when having nothing constructive to say… I have to wonder if Lawrence or most of the other naysayers have actually experienced a full live Delta Rae performance, lr heaven forbid – more than one!… I don’t think so! If they did, I think their “running off at the pen” would be quite different.
Over the years, I have pressed many to see Delta Rae’s shows, sight unseen – based only on my urging. And literally every single soul I have “sent” – regardless of their demographic – has loved Delta Rae and become a fan. I have gifted their CDs to many, and literally every time ted gifted ones have made DR’s CD a “favorite”… And now that the are touring the world – I have sent people I know to literally ever show they have played abroad, and all have been quite literally ‘blown away’ by the experience.
No, Delta Rae’s apogee is clear to see to anyone who steps back and truly takes them in… another exceptional CD and several more tours, and their venues will begin to steadily grow, as their public exposure does. There are great musicians – getting better all the time, and truly outstanding performers, as well as wonderful human beings. And their resultant luminosity is clear to anyone who can get past themselves long enough to truly look, listen and hear.
Having seen and met them twice in 2014, this review put a sour taste in my mouth. They perform with joyful energy and a genuine passion most bands lack. I echo everything Steven Ullman said. Jordan appears to be trying to intellectualize emotion, and does a horrendous job of it. I can only conclude Jordan’s a falsehood, and a feeble one at that.
What the fuck are you talking about? You’re reading into something that isn’t there, Jordan. Man this was irritating to read.
Everyone has there own opinion, personally this guy’s opinion is crap because Delta Rae is one of the best bands ever. They r amazing live, their vocal’s are flawless and mesh soooo well, they actually have talent and have lots of energy, they have amazing influences and it shows, also, sorry but if they didn’t haven talent then Lindsey Buckingham wouldn’t be playing with them. they aren’t racist ur just stupid and are looking at things that aren’t there. You want some advice on how to write an article?? Don’t bash anything because everyone has there own option and who in the hell r u to say they r a ‘lie’ who’s really lying here in this situation? you tell me.
I just saw delta Rae at Riverhawk music festival this weekend and while they sang a couple Fleetwood Mac songs ( which they rocked) they mostly sang a lot of original work that was ligitimently excellent. Not sure who these reviewers are but a crowd of over 1,000 LOVED them and where in there feet dancing and applauding! Even my teenage granddaughter loved them and her favorite songs were there original work. Can’t wait to see them again