Kevin Bronson on January 24th, 2012

2

Is folk-rock over? It is, quite possibly, for Delta Spirit, the SoCal quintet who won fans with the harmony-laden “Ode to Sunshine” in 2008 and cranked up the intensity with 2010’s “History From Below.” Both were albums that wore their hearts on their flannel-shirted sleeves, Matt Vasquez’s winsome voice sending fans scurrying to locate that “Find Your Inner Folkie” iPhone app (there has to be one, right?). But judging from the first single from their third album (a self-titled affair) due March 13 on Rounder Records, Delta Spirit is growing into a full-on rock band. Picking up where the song “Bushwick Blues” left off, the fivesome puts the pedal to the metal and pours on the fuzzy guitars, though not at the expense of Vasquez’s entreaties. It makes “Trashcan” seem like so long ago.

||| Download: After the jump, use the widget to get an mp3 of “California”:

||| Live: Delta Spirit plays the Music Box on May 11, with Waters opening.

Photo by Matt Wignall