Love Police presents a taste of Real American Music with the return of Portland’s the Delines and the Australian debut of Mississippi’s Jimbo Mathus in June 2023.
Touring Australia for just the second time and coming on the back of the acclaimed release of their 2022 album The Sea Drift, The Delines are the result of the musical collaboration and friendship of Willy Vlautin and Amy Boone. The group is also an opportunity for Willy to continue writing his mini-narrative songs that he gained notoriety for as the former frontman of the alt-country group Richmond Fontaine through a new voice and perspective offered by Amy.
The music of The Delines is clearly rooted in the past, as Willy and Amy have bonded over their shared love of soul and country songwriters from the 60s like Tony Joe White and Bobbie Gentry, but what makes their music so special is how it manages to evoke these voices from eras gone by without ever sounding stayed or overly traditional.
Speaking to the inspiration for their new record, Willy said “The idea for the ‘The Sea Drift’ began with Amy and my mutual love of Tony Joe White. We used to have conversations about his records and she’d always joke, ‘Just write me ‘Rainy Night in Georgia.’ Jesus, what a tall order, but I guess in my own way I started trying.”
In addition to being a songwriter, Willy is an acclaimed novelist, and has appeared at the Melbourne Writers Festival. Two of his six novels, Lean On Pete and The Motel Life have been adapted into feature films, so it’s no wonder that his newest material has such a visually evocative and cinematic mood.
The Sea Drift is the first new material recorded by The Delines since Amy Boone was in a horrific car accident in 2016 that hospitalized her for multiple years and delayed the completion of their 2019 album The Imperial. Speaking of Amy’s contributions to the album, Willy said “‘There’s strength to her voice, the strength of someone who’s overcome a lot of trauma and pain.”
Performing in Australia for the first time (as a solo artist), Jimbo Mathus is an American original. Jimbo has blazed a singular trail since forming New Orleans swing outfit Squirrel Nut Zippers, who went onto sell 3 million records and play the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as well as President Clinton’s second inaugural ball. From his subsequent time playing with Buddy Guy (circa Sweet Tea and Blues Singer) through to his bountiful solo work and his recent collaboration with Andrew Bird, Jimbo has become one of 21st Century America’s most profound artists and has created a body of work that is a testament to his hoodoo craftsmanship and to the sounds, sights and spirits of his inspirations in the Deep South.
Born in Mississippi, Mathus moved around the South early in his career before the encouragement of legendary maverick producer and musician Jim Dickinson and his son North Mississippi All Star son Luther Dickinson – and the discovery that his childhood nanny Rosetta Patton was in fact the daughter of the near mythical Mississippi musician Charley Patton – brought him back home in the mid- ’90s.
Jimbo’s latest solo album is 2020’s Incinerator, which was followed in 2021 by his collaboration with Andrew Bird entitled These 13. Bird and Mathus were once bandmates in Squirrel Nut Zippers.
LOVE POLICE PRESENT
THE DELINES
With special guest JIMBO MATHUS
JUNE 20023
Thur 08 – BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, MELBOURNE, VIC
Fri 09 – MEMO MUSIC HALL, ST KILDA, MELBOURNE, VIC
Sat 10 – THE GREAT CLUB, SYDNEY, NSW
Sun 11 – DOO-BOP, BRISBANE, QLD
Tues 13 – THE ELTHAM HOTEL, ELTHAM, NSW
Fri 16 – MEENIYAN TOWN HALL, MEENIYAN, VIC
Sat 17 – ODESSA AT LEAVER’S HOTEL, CRESWICK, VIC
TICKETS ON SALE – MONDAY MARCH 20, 8AM (AEDT) HERE