The Delzells
Yellow Jacket
By Caleb Stanislaw
“This song is in ‘E’ because we do every f******g song in ‘E’”
About half the time, Yellow Jacket toes the line of abject punk rock nihilism–you’d be forgiven for being fooled into thinking that these guys don’t care. But beneath all of that is a passion for the art form–yes, punk rock is absolutely an artform–and they do it really, really well. Their finest moments are when they blast the listener with their short, punchy irreverent canticles of mundanity. Track “I Don’t Know” laments, “You’ll be alone / you’ll die alone / you’ll live alone.” Feeling like a rejection of the norms of society, the refrain “I don’t know / I don’t know / I don’t know / what I’m looking for” hammers home the hopelessness permeating much of the lyrical content of Yellow Jacket.
“Snide Reply” shows up like a punch drunk party crasher. It’s a wild tune. Super staccato, it feels slam-dance inducing. These guys want you to move to their music. Sounds like this don’t get made by people who are standing still. “Snide Reply” also has the coolest guitar solo on the record; it’s a neat, slightly off-kilter moment that shifts from guitar to drums, and definitely showcases the musical abilities of the players in The Delzells.
Final tune “The Man” ties the record together. At first it sounds like a warped alternate universe Tom Petty song, but the resulting sound scape makes great use of texture and dynamics. Cool psycho-billy guitar sounds emerge, then a pensive bass line clears the way for a fuzzy spoken / yelled vocal line. The chorus comes together, and even though it’s a wordless refrain, it fits.
Whatever you do, support The Delzells and bands like them, for the sake of The Seen©.
https://thedelzells.bandcamp.com/album/yellow-jacket
