Steve Delamater – Don’t Rush the Punchline
From the bustling city of Los Angeles, California comes Steve Delamater, perhaps better known as Super Steve – a self-proclaimed nerd rocker that combines facetious absurdism with indie music to get his points across. Delamater’s newest release, Don’t Rush the Punchline, is full of witty lyricism and excellent, catchy pop rock instrumentals serving as earworms that easily get stuck in your head.
After the first song, “Minimum Wage,” kicks off the album with contagious energy, we come to song two, “Breathe Through Your Hips.” A horn section appears in this song giving it some ska influence, with a horn solo actually rearing its head as well. “Breathe Through Your Hips” goes from quiet to loud often, and the dynamics heard throughout the song are rock solid. Interestingly, there is also a steel drum in this tune. The lyrics offer sarcasm regarding yogic asanas, while the song is itself is tastefully simple: “Just lay on the floor / And once you do it more and more / Try to grin every day / And on your face it will stay.”
Track four is “Lightning,” and it has a funky introduction peppered with flute. There is a thumping bass guitar and marching band snare drum. Don’t Rush the Punchline is full to the brim with interesting instrumentals. “Lightning” has a bit of swing and syncopation, and amongst the groovy headbanger you’ll hear, “Jesus help me with my mental health.” The slight wash of the cymbals demonstrates great production, and the cool fills and full-band hits keep you on your toes.
Song six, “The Middle,” once again has very tight, refreshing production work. The song is hip with its high-pitched guitar juxtaposed with consistent bass and drums. Again, we hear some orchestral hits with Delamater’s tenor voice fitting the music very well, settling nicely atop the music itself. Surprisingly, the band enters a thrash metal breakdown before going back to home-base like nothing happened.
After the relatable and hilarious “Fucking Stupid Piece of Shit,” we come to track ten, “Everything is Everything at Once.” This song is slightly more ska and punk than its predecessors. The tight unit that is the percussion is fresh and understated. The crunchy guitar tones compliment the almost lo-fi percussion. “Everything is Everything at Once” slows twice at two separate times, and it sees itself hush into an emo drawl. Outside the cunning lyrics, song ten has a more sincere approach when Delamater sings, “Someday your memories / Will be your favorite movies.” This song has jelly-like chorused guitar, with a hot six-string making appearances every now and then. “Everything is Everything at Once” concludes after piano trills and intense punk rocking.
All in all, Steve Delamater puts forth an impressive and cheeky performance with Don’t Rush the Punchline. To add, the album features members from groups such as Cheekface, Guppy, Pacing, and Julez and the Rollerz. This unique album is FFO DEVO, Pavement, and OK Go. Check out Steve Delamater’s newest nerd rock effort on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp!
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Jake Sessanna