((The Delta Mirror)) Band Profile and Upcoming Los Angeles Concerts - Oh My Rockness

Here's a band that's excellent to listen to when you're feeling sad, but not in the, "There's a tear in my beer" sort of way -- more in the, "Ah, life..." sort of way. Back in the day (mid '90s to be somewhat exact) L.A.'s The Delta Mirror was two dudes making hip-hop jams. I'm not sure if they wore their clothes backward, but it would've been a lot cooler if they did.

But here, now in 2010 (2010?!), The Delta Mirror are definitely not hip-hop. They are the same two dudes, though (Craig Gordon on voice/guitar/synth, and David Bolt on a lot of keys and other assorted electro things -- and live, Karrie K. on bass).

Yes, they still kind of have some of those hip-hop-ish machine beats building the foundation for their songs. But The Delta Mirror of today is pretty much straight-up shoegazer pop. Their songs are epic too, like any good shoegazer band, with many of them clocking in at the 6- to 8-minute mark. So there's plenty of time to feel wistful between bridges and choruses.

But yeah, The Delta Mirror's long melodic musical forays into electro pop exploration just give off an overall vibe of melancholy. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the synthetic layers of keys, or the hollowness of the machine-made beats, maybe it's the swirls and fuzz of a lonely sounding guitar. But it all works together to just sort of make me feel, what's the word, heartbroken? But heartbroken in a positive way, if that makes sense, which it really doesn't.

Craig Gordon's voice sometimes reminds me of Paul Banks of Interpol too, and he always seemed like a sad guy. Anyway, don't leave here with the impression that The Delta Mirror is a downer in the traditional sense. The songs are solid and highly melodic and they're pretty much exactly what you want to listen to when you're feeling that, "Ah, life..." vibe. That vibe isn't always bad.
Published March 12, 2010
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