The Delines are a critically acclaimed Americana/soul/country band from Portland, Oregon, formed by novelist and songwriter Willy Vlautin, and fronted by the soulful vocals of Amy Boone. Taking time out in 2012 from his other band, Richmond Fontaine, to focus on his successful career as a novelist, Vlautin also found time to write new material that was inspired by the evocative world-weary vocals of Austin-based Boone of the Damnations. Bringing in Richmond Fontaine member Sean Oldham on drums, the Decemberists' Jenny Conlee on keys, Freddy Trujillo on bass, and Tucker Jackson on pedal steel, Vlautin formed the Delines around Boone's tough but haunting and vulnerable vocal style. The group assembled in Portland with producer John Askew to record what would become their debut album, 'Colfax'. Released at the beginning of 2014, it combined Vlautin's much-lauded tales of struggling characters from the American backwaters with Boone's emotive vocals, and following the record's release, the group embarked on a European tour that same year. They began work on a single during a set of summer shows, but these 2015 studio sessions blossomed, and the band soon had a ten-track collection on their hands, which they titled 'Scenic Sessions', and it was released that September. In 2016, Boone was involved in a car accident which left her with multiple injuries. At the time of the accident, the Delines had completed three-quarters of their next album with Askew, but Boone's lengthy convalescence led to a four-year gap between records, and they eventually returned with 'The Imperial' in January 2019, promoted a month earlier by its lead single 'Eddie And Polly'.
Later that year, two non-album singles were released, 'A Room On The Tenth Floor' and 'Eight Floors Up', that were recorded at the sessions for 'The Imperial', but which had to left off the album for reasons of space. November 2019 also brought a spoken word recording by Vlautin of his short story, 'The Kill Switch', for which the Delines provided musical backing, and by this point Jackson had departed, and the band continued without pedal steel guitar. In April 2021 Vlautin's sixth novel, 'The Night Always Comes', was published, and initial copies came with a soundtrack CD by the Delines, which included a cover of Spiritualized's 'Broken Heart'. October that year saw the release of 'Little Earl', the lead single from their fourth studio album 'The Sea Drift', which appeared in February 2022. In late 2022, the band released a two-track single titled 'The Lost Duets', which featured 'The Golden State' and 'My Blood Bleeds The Darkest Blue', both of which were Vlautin-Boone duets, with the former recording dating back to the time of the 'Scenic Sessions'. Although 2023 was a quiet year for the Delines, it saw a limited release of their 'Night Always Comes' soundtrack on vinyl, and in December the one-off single 'Christmas in Atlantis'. In November 2024 the single 'Left Hook Like Frazier' represented the first fruits of a fifth album, and 'Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom' was released on Valentine's Day 2025. The Delines' music combines Vlautin's admired lyrics about characters from America's hinterland and their everyday struggles, with Boone's vocals, the emotion of which wrings out the pain of the characters, and once you've listened to this selection of their best work I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do.
Track listing
01 The Imperial (from 'The Imperial' 2019)
02 Colfax Avenue (from 'Colfax' 2014)
03 Drowning In Plain Sight (from 'The Sea Drift' 2022)
04 Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom (from 'Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom' 2025)
05 The Oil Rigs At Night (from 'Colfax' 2014)
06 He Don't Burn For Me (from 'The Imperial' 2019)
07 Little Earl (from 'The Sea Drift' 2022)
08 Waiting On The Blue (from 'The Imperial' 2019)
09 State Line (from 'Colfax' 2014)
10 Let's Be Us Again (from 'The Imperial' 2019)
11 Hold Me Slow (from 'Colfax' 2014)
12 Nancy & The Pensacola Pimp (from 'Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom' 2025)
13 Sandman's Coming (from 'Colfax' 2014)
14 Past The Shadows (from 'The Sea Drift' 2022)
