Coming from the heart of the Black Country here we have the latest offering from a duo called Delta Howl. Consisting of Grant Ashman and Mark Neat, they formed in Dudley towards the end of 2016 and recorded a four track EP, of which “Mary”, is the second single to be lifted following their debut, “Reach the Shore”, a big atmospheric slab of Americana shot through with soulful vocals and evocative slide guitar.
Recorded, mixed and mastered in their home studio, “Mary” starts slow with a solo piano, synth strings and vocal before an acoustic guitar, congas, slide guitar and background shouts of “Hey” take over. I’m reminded in places of Kings of Leon circa their fourth album “Only By The Night”, not that the comparisons should stop you from giving this single a hearing, as Delta Howl have come up with a catchy, singalong tune and a nicely thought through arrangement. The song doesn’t overstay its welcome either, verse, chorus, short middle eight instrumental, verse, chorus and out in little more than two minutes and twenty seconds, there’s no padding or showy solos to detract from the melody and lyric.
More folk/country than rock, “Mary” is one of those songs that stays long in the memory after repeated listens and coupled with “Reach the Shore”, the signs are good for their EP which is due to hit the shops in August. There a couple of videos below to go with the release, which I suspect wasn’t filmed in their hometown as I don’t remember towering skyscrapers, wide avenues and huge intersections the last time I passed through Dudley. “Mary” is available to download from streaming sites including iTunes.
Videos
Links
https://www.deltahowl.com/
https://www.facebook.com/deltahowl
Words by John Cherry
