Give It All To You, the newest album from Americana blues band The Deltaz, struts and swings with down-home charm and lyrical wit.
The Deltaz, a brother duo consisting of Ted and John Siegel, grew up jamming and finding their groove together with their profound love of music. While cutting their teeth in the Southern California live scene, the Siegel brothers caught the eye of iconic bassist Rick Rosas, whose mentorship helped them develop their endearing sound.
However, disaster struck for the brothers in 2018, when the Woolsey Forest Fire destroyed their California home and studio. They would find a fresh start in Nashville a few years later, where they would go on to record their 2022 album, Turn It Back.
Flash-forward to this past September, and The Deltaz have returned with their latest 12-song album, which digs into an array of trials, tribulations, and deep-rooted personal reflections.
The album kicks off with "A Little Longer," an appeal for a careless lover to stick around that rumbles like a train going down the tracks. "Stay with me just a little bit longer," they sing, harmonica humming in the background. "You can break my heart just a little bit stronger," the song continues. When the lyrics compare the push-and-pull relationship to a car speeding down a twisty highway, an engine revs in the background, as this track does an excellent job pulling the listener into their storied world.
"Close To Me," the album's second track and July single, slows down the tempo without losing any of the energy and Southern charm from "A Little Longer." The song reflects the brothers' "immersion in the South's musical traditions… "bluegrass jams and late-night dance halls." The Nashville-based bassist Alison Prestwood, a longtime friend of The Deltaz, keeps the groove as the pair urge their dance partner to join them on the floor. "Just follow me, I got nothing to hide/ If you don't dance, you can't get close to me."
A twangy guitar leads into the tongue-and-cheek number and notable track, "Buttermilk Pie." "Everybody wants my baby's buttermilk pie/ Don't bother asking nice, she ain't handing out a slice," The Deltaz sing, a nod to the staple Southern dessert.
The album wraps up with the more somber track, "Better Alone." "Maybe I'm better alone / Won't have to pick up the phone," they muse over scaled-back acoustic guitar and harmonica. "Search yourself, you'll know it's true," they sing, delivering their final message to the listener. The song exemplifies the brothers' range, which traverses from heartsore ballads, to get-on-your-feet dancehall tunes.
Give It All To You was recorded live at Soil of the South Studio in Valdosta, Georgia with Grammy-winning producer Mark Neill (Charley Crockett, The Black Keys). "This record has a completely different sound," Ted explains. "Mark helped us tap into something raw, deeply emotional, and more rooted in the music we've always loved—R&B, country, and the blues."
"I think harmonies are a really big part of this album, too," says Ted. "The way that John and I sit in a groove together, too, is a way that we couldn't with somebody that wasn't a sibling." The album was recorded live, and listeners can feel the synchronicity and raw magic throughout.
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