By: David Schultz

The spirit of John Lennon floats over Delta Spirit’s Ode To Sunshine. You can sense the Beatle in Sean Walker’s strident guitar playing on “Parade,” in Kelly Winrich’s rollicking saloon-hall keyboards and in the hope and optimism amid the trenchant unflinching observations of “People, Turn Around.” Dripping with naked soul, lead singer Matthew Vasquez conveys just as much with his voice and delivery as he does with the lyrics, supplying the bright enthusiasm to “Ode To Sunshine” and the pathos to “Tomorrow Goes Away,” the sweet lullaby that opens the album.

Bucking the trend to drench instruments in reverb and effects, Delta Spirit makes sure you can hear every crisp note. From the garbage lid snares on the aptly titled “Trashcan” to the mariachi horns of “Bleeding Bells,” Ode To Sunshine has the same deliberate yet expansive style pioneered by The Beatles. A confident young band, Delta Spirit urge you to join them if you’re feeling what they’re feeling (they don’t get into specifics). Complete with rallying cries (“People C’Mon”) and warnings (“Children.”), Delta Spirit uses slightly religious imagery to get their point across. It's hardly preachy, although many of the songs do have the aspect of shaman sounding the clarion call, except for when they target the affections on a single girl as they do on “Strange Vine” and the achingly beautiful “House Built For Two.”

Delta Spirit adopts an adventurous approach to their music and there’s a happy ramshackle feel permeating Ode To Sunshine that’s overly contagious. It serves as a reminder that music is supposed to as much fun to listen to as it is to play.

Labels: Delta Spirit