Sam Recommends: "Flyin' High" by Delicate Steve

I first encountered Delicate Steve in 2014, when they opened for Tame Impala (who will surely appear on this blog at some point in the future.)

It was love at first listen. I’m not a huge fan of instrumental music, but while Delicate Steve’s entire catalogue is (very nearly) free of vocals & lyrics, it never sounded like instrumental music to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6uuluaqLHE

To me, that lead guitar (I’m not a musician, so I don’t know if that terminology is correct) acts as the vocalist & storyteller in Delicate Steve’s songs, and it conveys just as much emotion as any human voice ever has.

In “Flyin’ High,” that voice is telling a story about the resilience of the human spirit. It expresses a slow but steady (and ultimately euphoric) realization that things are going to be okay, that there is beauty and joy to be found in the world, and that it’s worth getting excited about.

That’s what I hear, anyway.