SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Welcome to Roby Street. I'm your host, Frankie Aki. Thank you for joining me for the last episode of the year. I want to try something slightly different here. I I kind of scripted this episode and I kind of want to read from that. I want to get all that in. But I also want to, you know, add lib like I typically do. The album I want to talk about today is by a band called The Delines. It's called Mr. Luck and Miss Doom. Interesting title. It's from earlier this year. I'm getting this one in just in time because with this show, I don't want to review albums that are more than a year old. But I think if I'm covering an album that's been released in the last 365 days, I feel like it's a new album. You know, if it's less than that, um, I feel like it's a new album. It's an artist, typically an artist's latest album. And so, yeah. Yeah. Uh, these guys, I'll cover this in my text here, but these guys they they consider themselves, I believe I I I read that they refer to themselves as like country soul, country slash soul music. That's the genre. Um it is it is country soul, but I would throw jazz in there as well. It's it's a bit of a fusion. Um, there's some jazz in there. It's got it's kind of got this feel of jazz music where you know it's slower. A lot of their songs are slower. There's a melodramatic element here, and they leave a lot of space within the song, within the composition. Um, it reminds me of jazz music. You know, country to me is kind of like it's a more active, whereas this is at least in a lot of their songs, it's it's slowed down, and uh those tend to be the ones that I like the best from their catalog. Um, but let's see here. I wrote down okay, yeah. So I I I wrote an intro to this episode. Uh let me read that, and then I'm gonna get into a clip, and then I'll come back and we'll talk more about these guys. Um, so humor me here. Uh uh this is kind of stream of consciousness stuff that I wrote down, and I really hope that over time I can kind of take this stuff and mold it and turn it into something valuable for the show. Um so I wrote down here, without further ado, it is both the saddest and the best thing in the world that no matter how much music I listen to, I'll never get to hear all the great songs that exist. Yes, I wrote that. There are just so many. I'll never find all the good ones. All you can do is keep digging and keep searching, soaking up the ones that you do get to hear. Think about all the songs that are out there somewhere in the world right now. Think about one that you would just love to hear, and if you heard it, you would just play this nonstop. It would be on repeat. But sadly, you will actually never hear it because it's lost out there somewhere in the ether. Something's always out of our grasp, isn't it? In the immediate moment, this this thought makes me despair, yet I find great hope in it. Because, first of all, what would life be like if you got to hear all the good songs and you were like done? It would be like you finished music. But then what? Also, it drives me because I want to hear as much good shit as there is out there. But you know, I want to do that because that shit makes me feel good, and you know, great music is cathartic. You know, time spent listening to music is time spent in peace, and the world needs more peace right now. It's a relief to know that no matter what, even in my saddest and darkest moments, there are countless songs out there that speak to what I'm going through. And I can't hear enough of 'em. Yeah, yeah. That just came to me when I was thinking about great music, it's just infinite. You know, that's how you can think of it. It's not infinite, you know, technically speaking, but that's how you can think about it. It's infinite, man. You're not gonna hear all the good stuff out there. So it's kind of like you've always got something to look forward to in life because there's always great music that lies ahead for you to hear and that will, you know, help you it'll help you go through your problems and it'll help you deal with your shit. You know, even whether it's like if you're broke, whether it's if you're sick, whether it's if you're um, you know, if you're going through a tough time personally, domestically, whatever the case may be, man, you know, all it takes is a great song to just bring you into the moment, even if it's for a brief moment, uh great music and lift you up and you know, get you over the hump. Um so now I'm gonna turn back towards the deligns here. Now turn off the TV and turn the lights down low, press play, and just close your eyes. Let's talk about Mr. Luck and Miss Doom. Here we go.

SPEAKER_01: 6:26

Shadop in Louisiana and lived in an abandoned house, and worked on a fishing boat out of Del Croix. They swam naked in the Stan Juan River to rain a thunderstorm.

SPEAKER_00: 6:48

That right there was Her Pony Boy. That song was called Her Pony Boy off this album. Again, this album is called Mr. Luck and Miss Doom. Um, as I said before, the The Lions are a country soul band. Um they're out of Portland, Oregon, headed by chief songwriter Willie Vlawten and the very talented vocalist Amy Boone, whose voice you just heard right there. Uh their debut album was 2014's Colfax, followed and equaled, in my opinion, by The Imperial in 2019. And they've consistently turned out one good album after another since then. Um there's a real consistency when it comes to quality, as well as the quality of the escape that an album can provide for not only our ears, but for our minds as well. Get away for a while with Boone's quietly sultry voice, supported by accessible songwriting and some quietly badass instrumentals. Yeah. Yeah, Vlawten seems to be the driving force here creatively. Um, these guys have, you know, I think four or five band members. Everybody here is technically, you know, on on their shit. They're at the top of their game. Um these seem like you know, really con uh competent career musicians. And um I don't know how much they tour, but they could. They could. Uh, I think these guys would have like a at the very least a cult following because they're consistent. Their music's consistent. There's a vibe, there's an atmosphere, there's a culture, you know, there's a sensibility. I think the best word here is there's a sensibility in their music that I think would um really appeal to an audience. Um, I do wonder how much they they tour. Um, yeah. Yeah, I started listening to these guys over the pandemic. So The Imperial was the first album I heard, and then Colfax, and then their more recent stuff. There's one called Sea Drift, which is pretty good. It's like a really understated, softer album of theirs. Um, I encourage you to check that out as well. Uh, I wrote here this is music that's full of doubt, hopelessness, and tragedy. Yet through it all there's a consistent theme of perseverance, a determination to make it to the other side through the fire and the storm. Uh, yeah, these guys are older cats. Uh, I think what's unique about them is how they kind of came into their own in their middle age. You know, just now they're really like, you know, as far as creativity goes, as far as technical prowess goes, I think these guys have kind of um reached that intersection where they're, you know, everything is um everything's top-notch. Um I wrote down here that it's kind of like Clint Eastwood, who became a better and better director with every movie he made. Um, and I wrote that they're aging like fine wine with a textured yet subtle taste to their music. Um it's cinematic music, um, in that there are narratives, and we can really get a feel for what they're weaving together with the lyrics and the composition. Um, this is another tune right here off the album. Uh, it's called Nancy and the Pensacola Pimp. Check it out.

SPEAKER_01: 10:48

She turned 18. He's been up for seven days and nights, living on a different frequency. She had the license.

SPEAKER_00: 11:02

There's this intricate balanced complement between their composition and instrumentation, words and singing. Even what we might consider their lesser songs are still interesting and unique and raw and technically fine-tuned. I keep using that word technical, but I think it's warranted because to be this consistent, to be this just focused and this tempered, I it's not easy, man. It's not easy. Bands fall apart. Bands have fights. Bands they have drama, they have like petty disagreements, petty grievances, and that shit just gets in the way. I think it affects the music, but not these guys. That's why I keep using that word technical. These guys just hum along, man. I think it has to do with the success that they've or if not success. I I I don't doubt that they've been successful in a lot of things, but I guess I guess the word that I'm looking for is the artistic achievement that they've reached. I think is because of a cohesive unit. Um, though the band was formed in Portland, Boone is from Texas, and Vlauten's from Reno, Nevada, and that's why I would call it Jazz Soul rather than country soul, which is what they call themselves. I don't know if I mentioned that yet. Um Rust Belt Soul, you know, it's the sound of that small town that lost all the jobs, that once vibrant community that just closed up shops and over the decades it just hollowed out. It's the sound of the surviving members of that community. That's what this music is right here, man. It's so unique. There's nobody that sounds like these guys, they really tap into that. I think a lot of artists they want to go for excitement, they want to go for that commercial appeal, they want to go for that paycheck. These guys, I think, have accepted that maybe they're never gonna see the big money, maybe they're never gonna see the big time, but that can't stop them from making great music. And I really respect that, and I think that puts them on par with any other artist on a spiritual level. Maybe on a creative level, there are artists who've, you know, strive for more and have gone further. Yeah, sure. You know, I'm sure there are, but I think on a philosophical level, a spiritual level, I don't think anybody I don't think anybody um gave more to the music than these guys have been giving over the past, you know, ten years or so. Um what else did I write down here? Yeah, that that that small town, that that hollowed out town, that place where it hey, it's like an exit on the highway now. You know, that's the place that they call home. It's all they know, and they can't really live anywhere else. Only here do the people recognize them, know them, and provide for them that sense of belonging. I think when you are born somewhere and you grow up somewhere, there's something about that place, even if it's just an empty field, man, that empty field is a is a field of dreams, and it's a field full of hope, and it's a field full of possibility. And you know, I think that to judge somebody for wanting to stay in their hometown, I think it's wrong. Um, I think elitism gets that wrong a lot a lot of the time, excuse me. Um this album is forty and a half minutes long. Uh, I think it bats around four four hundred. Um my favorite songs on the album are uh Her Pony Boy, which you heard at the at the top there. Um There's Nothing Down the Highway. Um Don't Miss Your Bus Lorraine, which I'll play in a second, Nancy and the Pentacola Pimp, which you just heard, and uh JP and Me. Um this is their fifth studio album. I don't know if it's their best, but it's their latest in a series of consistent works. Consistently good works. Um these aren't songs that blow you away, but which carry you. And when you hear the record, you'll know what I'm talking about. You settle in quickly and you want to go for the ride. Even if the music isn't your thing, you you still want to hear the stories. Um, yeah, you still want to hear the stories like this one. Um, this right here is a song called Don't Be Late. No, don't miss your bus, Lorraine. Don't miss your bus, Lorraine. I wonder who they're singing about. Like, who is Lorraine? You know? Uh in that song, who's Lorraine? What's Lorraine like? You know, is it a mother? Is it a sister or a friend perhaps? You know, how old was she and where is she now? These songs each have a narrative, like I said earlier, and you kind of end up wanting to know more about the inspirations behind the tunes. Um it's really nice when an artist is full fully in their element, um, and they're doing exactly what they were meant to be doing. Um, my favorite the line songs in general across their five albums are The Oil Rigs at Night, I Won't Slip Up. Those are from their first album, Colfax. Uh Cheer Up Charlie and The Imperial, which are from the Imperial album. Uh Kid Codeine, All Along the Ride. Those are off of uh Sea Drift. And then there's another song I like called Cool Your Jets, which is off their previous record. Uh I forget the name of it now. It's slipping my mind. Um, and yeah, yeah, the album was released on Valentine's Day, uh, February 14th, 2025. Yeah, man. Check it out. I think there's something for everybody here. I think there's something for everybody on uh in these songs. You know, there's a story being told, you know, there are many, many miles traveled, you know, in these in these tracks. And um, you know, these guys are carrying forward a tradition that's as old as time. That the troubadour, you know, the you know, the the artist, the hungry artist. Uh it's not about money, it's not about getting shit, it's not about greed, it's the opposite, man. It's about openness and generosity and sharing and you know, really like going through your pain in life and um taking stock. And I think what you hear a lot in this album in particular is just this devotion to one another. These people, you know, like I said, um, you know, it's like these songs are are are about the people who survived the hollowed out town in the Rust Belt, for example. They could be anywhere, they don't have to be the Rust Belt, you know, like Vladin's from Nevada and Boone's from Texas. So there are small Towns in every every state in America that fit that narrative. That narrative of, you know, this town was once booming and it's not anymore. You know, more more locally, you can kind of see it everybody knows that one mall that used to be bumping, used to be hot, everybody used to be there on the weekends. You walked into this place on a Saturday and you know, it was hard to walk around because it was so full, it was vibrant, and now it's just an empty mall. You know, full of just empty space. And um, you know, that that analogy or or that idea, I think s uh it scales to not just a mall, but a small town, and sometimes to a state. Sometimes you have states that were, you know, wealthier states that aren't as much anymore. And um sometimes that extends to a country, and there's an identity in the music. And um, yeah, I I I'm really moved by these guys. I'm really uh inspired by what they do, and I'm always looking forward to hearing what they come up with next because I know it's gonna be good. I know their their consistency is gonna hold up. And Amy Amy Boone's voice, you know, she's a middle-aged woman, and her voice is just as beautiful as that as ever. So um check it out. It's called Mr. Luck and Miss Doom. Um and that's gonna do it for this episode. Uh join me again in the new year uh when I review a another album. And until then, this is Roby Street. Peace.