By Chris M. Johnson
Louisville has always had a rich music scene, but only over recent years has the scene been recognized for its contribution to independent rock music at large. Many current bands point to “Spiderland” from Louisville’s own Slint as an essential album to indie rock. And, of course, My Morning Jacket has put the city on the map as a place where great music is invented and cultivated.
New sounds and creations are always being concocted in Louisville. There’s one band that wants to take the tradition of inventiveness we hold so dear within our scene and turn it inside out. This band is The Deloreans and they’re here to blow your mind with “American Craze.”
The Deloreans quietly came into the Louisville scene with their 2009 album, “Love Outrageous.” The debut displayed a knack for jangly guitars. The decidedly neurotic croon of lead vocalist and guitarist Jeremy Perry provided a fantastic juxtaposition to the standard guitar rock structure of modern indie rock. On “American Craze,” the band trades in any effort to synchronize their sound to other modern acts, instead tending toward the nostalgia of the music of crooners past. And it works.
Perry, the mastermind of The Deloreans, has self-produced both albums for the band. The collection of songs on “American Craze” extends as far as the 1960s croon of entertainers past on “Gatsby” to the outright metal guitar workout of “Leviathan.” One thing is for sure: The experiment between genres is prevalent on “American Craze.” And it is carried expertly.
The fact is that “American Craze” is an immediate Louisville classic. The bedroom production of the record should be evidence enough. It sounds clean and concise. The completeness of the record is only complemented by its genre-bending nature.
Perry’s voice is a perfect deadpan croon. He sounds as if he is singing directly to you as a listener, while the music in the background dances around his lyrics. Meg Samples, a graduate of the University of Louisville music school, provides the drums and percussion on “American Craze,” creating a complementary backbeat to the organized chaos of the new standard of Louisville sound.
Simply put, “American Craze” should be on top of your purchase list. Your mom would love it. And you will too.
