Delicate Steve

"Afria Talks to You"

[Luaka Bop; 2012]

By Frank Mojica; March 13, 2012

Purchase at: Insound (Vinyl) | Amazon (MP3 & CD) | iTunes | MOG

A year ago, Steve Marion made his debut as Delicate Steve and challenged the notions of convenient labeling and genre pigeonholing with Wondervisions, an album that drew from a wide array of influences without sounding like any of them. The multi-instrumentalist is back with “Afria Talks to You,” the first single from the upcoming Positive Force. “Afria Talks to You” channels the similarly titled Sly & the Family Stone song in a manner that’s less straight-on homage and more of an unsettling haunting. Hum-along melodies are twisted by Delicate Steve’s signature slide guitar into something that’s equally experimental and pop oriented. The idiosyncratic instrumentals of Delicate Steve here sound familiar but grander, as if the soundscapes have gone galactic.

MP3: Delicate Steve – “Afria Talks to You”

Positive Force is due for release on May 15 from Luaka Bop.