The Delines: Mr. Luck & Mrs. Doom Album Review

At the heart of The Delines are songwriter and novelist Willy Vlautin – previously the frontman of Richmond Fontaine – and Amy Boone, formerly of The Damnations. Vlautin is also a celebrated author who has built a reputation for weaving deeply human, blue-collar narratives into his music, a talent that carries over into The Delines. Meanwhile, Boone’s hushed, world-weary vocals bring these vignettes to life with an aching, cinematic quality, making The Delines’ music feel like a soundtrack to forgotten highways and dimly lit bars.

The band’s debut album, Colfax (2014), established their signature sound, and their 2019 follow-up, The Imperial, refined this style, deepening the cinematic scope of their music. In 2022, they released The Sea Drift, inspired by Gulf Coast landscapes, continuing their tradition of storytelling through song.

Despite setbacks, including a serious accident that sidelined Boone for years, The Delines have persevered, becoming one of the most unique and literary voices in contemporary Americana. Their music is a testament to the power of storytelling, carried by Vlautin’s prose and Boone’s evocative voice.

Which leads us to Mr Luck and Ms Doom, the band’s fourth album, and in some respects, their best yet. It’s also, rather surprisingly, occasionally upbeat in places. Yes, it is still populated by a cast of dropouts, down-at-heel characters, petty criminals, the lovelorn, and the bereft, but occasionally, this album allows a little bit of southern sunlight to poke through the otherwise all-encompassing bar room at noon gloom.

The opening title track, sets up the subject matter for the whole record. A couple of misfits find each other, realise they are perfect together, and are destined for a life of moving from motel to motel, small backwater to… well, you get the idea. It’s satisfyingly cinematic, and the combination of Vlautin’s storytelling coupled with Boone’s smoky, country-tinged voice instantly confirms that you are in the right place.

‘Her Ponyboy’ is a little more down-tempo, opening with Boone accompanied by piano, and tells the story of a very young couple riding the rails, having good times, and, of course, plenty of bad ones. ‘Left Hook Like Frazier’ is a seriously upbeat, toe-tapping tune, destined to be a Delines classic for years to come, but dig deeper, read the lyrics along with the record, and the darkness of domestic violence and poverty is very present.

‘Sitting on the Curb’ is a sad story of arson and infidelity… Did I say this record had more light than usual for a Delines album? It does, but you just need to compare it to previous albums!

Side one closes with ‘There’s Nothing Down The Highway’, a rather more philosophical number, with Boone singing about what running away does to a person – it’s a change from the otherwise narrative-led nature of the album. It reminds me of Nick Cave, which isn’t something I expected to write!

Side two opens with one of the album’s standout tracks, ‘Don’t Miss Your Bus Lorraine’, the story of a recently released con trying to make her way back in the world – it’s a thing of desperate beauty.

‘The Haunting Thoughts’ once again takes us into the mind of a struggling character. It could even be Nancy from ‘Nancy & The Pensacola Pimp’, the story of a 16-year-old girl and her pimp. Okay, so they get married, but then she has him killed – so a mixed bag in terms of relationships.

‘Maureen’s Gone Missing’s upbeat, almost jazzy drum track propels the story of the titular heroine, who appears to be one of the ones that got away – just before the wrong people come looking for her.

‘JP and Me’ is perhaps Boone’s most heart-rending vocal performance here. The delivery is so impassioned, you find yourself believing it was her who left JP in that Motel 6. The coda of ‘Don’t Go Into That House’ sees Lorraine return but leaves us wondering, what is in that house?

Whether you have been with The Delines since the start or are new to the world of Willy Vlautin’s exquisite storytelling, Mr Luck and Ms Doom is a revelation!

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