I was listening to Subiza, Delorean‘s May release, on BART last Friday. It was my third run through the album, which had twice failed to satisfy me and yet continued to tantalize when I scrolled by on the old iPod – usually a sign of lurking potential.
Sure enough, when the train zoomed out of that dark, deafening tunnel and the East Bay sun came streaming in, one of the house-inspired buildups on “Stay Close” ruptured into basstastic bliss, the roof was raised, and, oh boy, it was sublime.
Delorean is an electronic band from Barcelona. More than anything else, their music gets described as “summery.” This description – probably inspired by the fact that they released their last two works on the brinks of summer ’09 and ’10 – could refer to any number of stylistic attributes. My take is this: their songs, besides being upbeat and danceable f’sho, consist largely of samples and other colorful sonic bits loosely and indulgently pieced together – kinda like how summer dresses are built with room for the breeze to blow through, or how the glare from the sun blurs the edges of things, both literally and in the more poetic sense (Sorry what did you say? – I was too busy getting lost in your eyes.)
Really, though, their name says it all. The Delorean Motor Company (DMC) had a short run (started ’75, bankrupt ’82). In that time, it achieved everlasting fame by being the car from Back to the Future. Delorean (the band), like Marty McFly and Dr. Brown, have a way of using time to their advantage. They aptly realize the aphorism “hindsight is 20/20,” honing in on the best, most fun attributes of house and electronic music of the ages and leaving behind the tedious. Loads of sweet buildups, expertly placed “Ooh baby”s and “Oh hey”s, and non-throw-away vocals.
True of all music, and especially true of Delorean, listening environment is key. I’ve found high velocity vehicles with big windows to be best. And I bet a very, very good time is going to be had when they play Popscene on June 10th. Yeah, you should go!
Listen to “Stay Close,” the first track from Subiza, here on hype machine.
