The Delines: Christmas In Atlantic 3-song 7"

The Delines:
Christmas In Atlantis / Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas / San Leandro Lament
(Decor Records / El Cortez Records, DECOR65, USA, 2023)

Family holiday gatherings are the highlight of the season for some, and a horror for others. It all depends on your family members and how well you get along with them. If you're the kind of person who tries to avoid the family Christmas gathering because you don't like your family that much, it's good to know that there are always people who have it worse than you. Just listen to The Delines' 'Christmas In Atlantis'. 'Christmas In Atlantis' was written by the band's guitarist, Willy Vlautin. Before Vlautin formed Portland, Oregon-based The Delines in 2012, he was the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Portland alternative country band Richmond Fontaine. Vlautin is also a critically acclaimed author, having published his first novel, "The Motel Life," in 2007 and five more novels to date. A film adaptation of 'The Motel Life' was released in 2013 to critical acclaim.

In his books and lyrics, Vlautin focuses on the underbelly of America. Most of his stories take place in western states like Nevada (where he is originally from), Oregon and New Mexico. 'Christmas In Atlantis' fits right into this theme. In the song, singer Amy Boone describes how she and her partner take a taxi to the house where the family holiday party is being held. 'Little Drummer Boy' plays in the background as they exit the taxi. The first thing they see when they enter is an uncle yelling at the TV because his favorite baseball team is losing the game. Wait until you meet the rest of the family. The niece who proudly shows XXX-rated pictures of herself and prefers a porn career to college because she can make a lot more money that way. The cousin who talks about the merits of the KKK and how fascism is misunderstood. Spouses, with in-laws joining in. Sisters arguing over who gets to inherit their mother's jewelry and Tiffany lamp. A nephew who wants to score some drugs, but can't get into town on his moped because of the snow, and asks his grandmother to take him there, but she can't because both of her legs were amputated just last week. Boone talks more than she sings, with a subdued voice, while the music in the background, which includes trumpets and organ, sounds relaxed, in contrast to all the chaos going on at the family reunion.

As soon as UFOs come up, Boone and her partner decide they've had enough and flee to the Atlantis Casino, where they check in for three days. The mood of the song changes as well. The band's country soul sounds more powerful, and Boone trades in her chatty vocals to sing about all the glitz and glamour that surrounds them at the casino. The Delines recorded the track in 2022 for BBC Radio's Gideon Coe Show and have now released it on a 3-track 33 rpm single.

The first track on the B-side is also Christmas-related. 'Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas', written by Vlautin, is a vinyl-only track, and it's another little story set to music, as so many of The Delines' songs are. It's about a man waiting for a bus to take him out of Dallas around Christmas time, with only a few clothes for luggage. 'San Landrea Lament', written by the band's keyboardist and trumpeter Cory Gray, is an instrumental track, a nostalgic piano melody that sounds almost neoclassical. The trumpet that joins in halfway through the song gives it a bit of a brass band feel. If Gray had given it a Christmas-related name, like 'Santa Claus Lament', you would have thought it was written as a Christmas song.

The Delines debuted in 2014 with their album "Colfax", an album that received good reviews, with critics praising Vlautin's lyrics and Boone's vulnerable vocals, which very well expressed all the hardships the characters in Vlautin's lyrics had to endure. The band followed up with "Scenic Sessions" (2015, an album they released themselves to sell on their 2015 tour), "The Imperial" (2019), "The Night Always Comes" (2021, a CD that came with one of Vlautin's novels as a soundtrack and was re-released on LP in 2023 as part of Record Store Day), and "The Sea Drift," their most recent effort from last year. Joining Boone and Vlautin on the three tracks on the 7" are the other three current members of The Delines: Cory Gray (keyboards and trumpet), Sean Oldham (percussion) and Freddy Trujillo (bass). The 7" was released on black and green vinyl. The green vinyl version was only available from the band and the label, but is now sold out.

Listen to ‘Christmas In Atlantis’ through the band’s Bandcamp site: You can order the single through your local record store. It is available everywhere.