The long-awaited first release from Dallas’ booze-fueled garage-rock outfit The Delzells is finally here.
To kick things off, we’re debuting an exclusive new track, “Repopulate,” before the band’s EP release show Friday night at Double Wide.
Yellow Jacket is the eighth — and possibly most eclectic — release on the Dallas-based label Barf Wave Records. The Delzells have been honing their sound over the last year and have given us a mixtape of everything the band has to offer.
“I'm particularly excited about the record because we've been careful about releasing music,” singer and guitarist Justin Casey says. “This EP is the culmination of our first year as a band, and as I see it, all albums are essentially musical time capsules.”
Each song on the EP has a distinct sound that never strays too far from the band’s ethos as party rockers on a mission to get you off your seat and into the groove.
“This release means the next step in my relationship with music and my friendship with the band members,” guitarist Michael Posival says. “This has been the most fun I have had playing music with these three guys, and the experience has taught me so much about what it means to be a musician and a better person.”
The band released the first single from Yellow Jacket in mid-January. “Heavy Drapes” showed off the band’s capability to smoke its fans out to a bass-heavy jam filled with funky rhythms and get heads bobbing and butts shaking with a more hectic breakout at the song’s crescendo.
“Repopulate” gives a different view of the band, which can be sardonic or stoney, hard-driving or laid back. The song expresses frustration for the way things are and the aching urge to throw it all away and start a new society elsewhere.
The eclectic nature of The Delzells' first EP is no mistake. This is a band that revels in doing whatever it wants whenever it wants.“This EP is the culmination of our first year as a band, and as I see it, all albums are essentially musical time capsules.” — Justin Casey, The Delzells
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For a band with such a short history, The Delzells have a broad catalogue.
“We picked the strongest songs we had that were most representative of our sound and range,” Casey says of Yellow Jacket.
The Delzells mix it up musically and are keen on letting each member take a turn on the microphone. Casey sings lead on four of the tracks, Posival sings lead on two,and bassist Ralph Pownell sings lead on one.
“Yeah, we like to let whoever sing on them,” Casey says. “Typically, whoever wrote the song will handle lead vocals. When we were assembling the track list, we wanted to showcase some of each.”
Trading off songwriting duties and lead singers adds a bit of unexpected value to the album. In the lead-up to most of the tracks on Yellow Jacket, listeners hear one of the band's draws — its sense of humor.
To help them kick off their rockin’ good time at Double Wide, The Delzells chose American Werewolf Academy and Mean Motor Scooter to bring them in and take them out.
“We aimed to create a cohesive bill that will hopefully get people amped for our performance,” Casey says. “American Werewolf Academy has a powerful rock sound to kick things off on a strong note. Then Mean Motor Scooter will follow with their energetic blend of straightforward garage rock that fits effortlessly with our sound.”
Yellow Jacket will be available on Bandcamp before the show Friday.
“I just hope fans like rocking it out in their cars and earbuds as much as they enjoy it in the clubs,” Casey says.
