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Delorean, Stuyvesant Town Oval, New York

Live Reviews

Delorean are a band placed on earth by the gods to remind you it’s summer.

7th July 2010, Styvessant Town Oval / By Willis Arnold
Delorean Delorean take the stage at the Stuyvesant Town Oval like a group of apprehensive teenagers. They acknowledge the crown with sheepish waves and ready their instruments without fanfare. They choose their first song of the evening with care.

'Seasun' begins as an exercise in restraint, as the lads from Spain milk the most atmospheric strains of the song before dropping into a crowd-known melody. As recognition spreads through the audience the tension is visible in quick asides, and the insistent tugs toward the stage that people suffer from their more outgoing friends. While the drums kick in, the first bars of sampled vocals bring smiles to faces and the crowd to their feet. People rush the stage.

Halfway through their first song, Delorean’s ability to utilize slow swells and ebullient breaks is already apparent.

The musicians of Delorean have picked up more than a few tricks from DJs and the dance floor: though they never fully break between songs, they allow the beats to fade out and the volume to drop, giving themselves another opportunity to build texture and sound.

On 'Deli', the drummer’s emphasis on cymbals lets the beat rest mainly on synthesized handclaps and the occasionally punctuating snare. Though his style lacks the punch of most rock and roll drumming, this technique allows him to work with the beat and skirt around it, providing texture as well as rhythm. The unmistakable refrain of “I like the time I spend with cute girls! I like the time I spend with you!” seems appreciated by both genders in attendance.

As the show progresses so does the band’s confidence. The vocals become stronger toward the middle of their set, an enthusiasm supported by the inceasingly upbeat tenor of their songs. Delorean write songs that embody an almost delinquent joy, a joy that can (at worst) be mildly threatened by a reticent vocal performance.

Delorean are a band placed on earth by the gods to remind you it’s summer. At times they employ synthesized beats that sound a little to close to the “jungle” setting of an old Yamaha keyboard or your favorite Garageband loop. This is surely the sign of a young band willing to pay homage to the music they love. Their songs are a consistent reminder that despite the heat and humidity this is the season for staying out late, talking with friends, and unavoidably, crushes. Rating: 8/10
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