9/10
The Delines (US)
The Delines formed in 2012 when Willy Vlautin, former frontman of Richmond Fontaine and a novelist, heard Amy Boone sing. Struck by her voice, he wrote songs for her for over a year before asking if she would like to start a band. The result is a group where Boone’s expressive vocals and Vlautin’s literary storytelling sit at the core.
In the literary world, Willy Vlautin is a widely acclaimed novelist, and several of his books have been adapted for film, including Lean on Pete. Author Ursula K. Le Guin has called him one of the bravest contemporary American storytellers.
Their debut album Colfax was released in 2014 and surprised both fans and critics alike. The record, reminiscent of a worn Dusty Springfield or a weary Rickie Lee Jones, appeared on more than a dozen year-end best-of lists.
Four years later, the band released their second album The Imperial, which topped the UK’s official Americana chart for two weeks, while they played sold-out shows across the UK and Europe. In 2022, they returned with their cinematic third album The Sea Drift, named “Album of the Year” by both Americana UK and BBC 6’s Gideon Coe, and featured on over twenty year-end lists across the UK and Europe. The Night Always Comes followed in 2023, and in 2025 they released their fifth album Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom.
They now return with a new record. The Set Up (2026) is, in many ways, a companion piece to Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom. Where romance once stood at the center, The Delines now move deeper into a darker and more exposed world. The album portrays the lives of the addicted, the deceivers, and the lost—clearly shaped by a United States marked by the lingering effects of the opioid crisis. Songs like “Dilaudid Diane,” “The Reckless Life,” and “Walking With His Sleeves Down” carry a sense of loneliness and fragility that further enhances the band’s distinctive, atmospheric sound.
On stage:
Amy Boone – vocals, guitar
Cory Gray – keyboards, trumpet
Sean Oldham – percussion, vocals
Freddy Trujillo – bass, vocals
Willy Vlautin – guitar, vocals
The Delines formed in 2012 when Willy Vlautin, former frontman of Richmond Fontaine and a novelist, heard Amy Boone sing. Struck by her voice, he wrote songs for her for over a year before asking if she would like to start a band. The result is a group where Boone’s expressive vocals and Vlautin’s literary storytelling sit at the core.
In the literary world, Willy Vlautin is a widely acclaimed novelist, and several of his books have been adapted for film, including Lean on Pete. Author Ursula K. Le Guin has called him one of the bravest contemporary American storytellers.
Their debut album Colfax was released in 2014 and surprised both fans and critics alike. The record, reminiscent of a worn Dusty Springfield or a weary Rickie Lee Jones, appeared on more than a dozen year-end best-of lists.
Four years later, the band released their second album The Imperial, which topped the UK’s official Americana chart for two weeks, while they played sold-out shows across the UK and Europe. In 2022, they returned with their cinematic third album The Sea Drift, named “Album of the Year” by both Americana UK and BBC 6’s Gideon Coe, and featured on over twenty year-end lists across the UK and Europe. The Night Always Comes followed in 2023, and in 2025 they released their fifth album Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom.
They now return with a new record. The Set Up (2026) is, in many ways, a companion piece to Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom. Where romance once stood at the center, The Delines now move deeper into a darker and more exposed world. The album portrays the lives of the addicted, the deceivers, and the lost—clearly shaped by a United States marked by the lingering effects of the opioid crisis. Songs like “Dilaudid Diane,” “The Reckless Life,” and “Walking With His Sleeves Down” carry a sense of loneliness and fragility that further enhances the band’s distinctive, atmospheric sound.
On stage:
Amy Boone – vocals, guitar
Cory Gray – keyboards, trumpet
Sean Oldham – percussion, vocals
Freddy Trujillo – bass, vocals
Willy Vlautin – guitar, vocals