Delicate Steve - Wondervisions

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 9 / 1 / 2012

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Luaka Bop's being David Byrne's label, I can understand why Delicate Steve got signed. Reminding me of footloose and fancy free new wave pop, and being gymnastic as well as very disciplined, Steve could be David's unrecognised child. 'Wondervisions' is edgy, stubborn, staccato and spartan. Delicate Steve, however, despite this, is liberal in his outlook and, in an odd way, funky as hell. He is also eloquent, but without the use of words. Starting off like Jimi Hendrix in much the same way that he played the US national anthem, Delicate Steve performs on the snares as if he has gone berserk, but in the most charming manner. This opening zany chaos paves the way for the next track, the lovely and vaguely West-African pop of 'The Ballad of Speck and Pebble'. The most striking characteristic of ‘Wondervisions’ is its crossroad of sharp, edgy lo-fi indie rock and lean rhythm patterns. In all of his frenzied delicacy, Steve manages to hustle up both visions of wonder as well as many wondervisions. At the risk of disturbing the search engine bots, this album sounds at times like it is standing at a happy meeting place between Leo Kottke and a melodic Sonic Youth caught doing the salsa. The well developed song structures plus the exquisite solo guitar play turns this album into the most unlikely entry in the catalogue of Luaka Bop. The closing track 'Flying High' sounds as anxious as this album did in its opening moments. The little genius of Delicate Steve lies in his capability to melt the offbeats.

Track Listing:-

1 Welcome - Begin
2 The Ballad of Speck and Pebble
3 Source (Connection)
4 Sugar Splash
5 Attitude / Gratitude
6 Source (Construction)
7 Wondervisions
8 Z Expression
9 Don't Get Stuck (Proud Elephants)
10 Source (Bridge)
11 Butterfly
12 Flyin' High

Band Links:-

http://delicatesteve.com/
https://www.instagram.com/delicatesteve/
https://www.facebook.com/DelicateSteve/
https://twitter.com/delicatesteve
https://www.youtube.com/user/delicatesteve

Label Links:-

http://luakabop.com/
https://twitter.com/Luakabop
http://whois.williamonyeabor.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/luakabopper
https://www.facebook.com/luakabop1989/

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