What Is There

Returning after a six-year hiatus that saw Delta Spirit splinter into a profusion of musical side projects and personal endeavors, What Is There sees the west coast-bred indie rockers deliver a spirited collection of songs that, for the most part, is in sync with the anthemic electro-pop of 2014s Into the Wide. Commencing with The Pressure, a kinetic slab of sleek, inward-looking modern rock that flirts with Killers-esque grandiosity, the sturdy ten-track set is a pop album above all else, but still honors the groups roots music beginnings. Lead single How Bout It flirts with blues and gospel, and makes excellent use of Matthew Logan Vasquezs expressive voice, as do the heartfelt ballads Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Just the Same, both of which are built largely on a chassis of folk, country, and Americana. The funky It Aint Easy provides the most immediate thrills, with Vasquez vamping like an adopted Scissor Sister over a slinky disco groove, but its a relative outlier. What Is There parses the myriad hardships of life, loss, and love with veteran professionalism, but where in the past the bands pop acumen was accompanied by flashes of teeth, there now exists a sort of inert Coldplay-meets-the War on Drugs uniformity that keeps the big moments from landing. Nowhere near their best effort, What Is There still manages to retain enough of the widescreen essence of its predecessors to transcend its fixation on sonic baubles. Delta Spirit are less interesting as purveyors of synthy guitar rock but theyre still compelling enough to warrant more than a cursory appreciation. ~ James Christopher Monger