The Delines

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

3/5

WILLY Vlautin has been on the cusp of mainstream recognition for the last 20 years, initially as frontman of Americana outfit Richmond Fontaine and latterly as a Raymond Carver-esque novelist.

His breakthrough may finally arrive with The Delines, a project showcasing the bruised but defiant vocals of The Damnations’ frontwoman Amy Boone. 

Something of an alt country supergroup — the six-piece also feature Richmond Fontaine’s Sean Oldham on drums and Jenny Conlee from The Decemberists on keys, who’s replaced on this tour by Cory Gray — here they bring out the best elements in all their respective acts. 

Their songs are populated by hard-bitten, hard-drinking blue collar workers who dream of something bigger on the likes of The Oil Rigs At Night and the upbeat Wichita Ain’t So Far Away.

Gray’s trumpet adds an easy jazz vibe to new track Sonny and David Murphy joins the band mid-set to add tear-stained pedal steel to I Got My Shadows.

The greater scope for other band members to contribute material, as well as Vlautin making greater use of his own vocals, produces mixed results. Bassist Freddie Trujilo’s Freddie Fender is an instantly forgettable slice of pedestrian country while Boone’s Heart, Trust And Pride is classic late-night soul-gazing.

But The Golden State, a duet between Boone and Vlautin, could quite possibly be one of the best tracks the latter’s ever written. Pitching them as jaded lovers, it injects some lightness into his usually hard-bitten lyrics and makes the number an odd relation to Fairytale Of New York.

Despite the musical variety, there are only so many songs about motels and thwarted dreams a person can take. At a generous 90-minutes the set does start to drag but with a little tightening up The Delines could well become one of the biggest cult country acts on the circuit.

Susan Darlington