Steve Marion, the critically acclaimed-and completely wordless-songwriter and guitarist known as Delicate Steve, has unveiled a new album called Delicate Steve Sings. Is the album title a reference to the instantly recognizable "voice" of his guitar? Does he actually sing this time? Has he not been singing all along? That's the crux of Sings-Marion is the rare guitarist where you can put on any of his records and know exactly who's playing. In an indie rock landscape stuffed end-to-end with guitars and amplifiers, nobody else sounds like this. That unique voice has kept Steve busy in an unpredictable variety of settings. The sheer spread of his work outside his own records-collaborating with Miley Cyrus and Paul Simon, playing in Amen Dunes and the Black Keys, and being sampled by Kanye-doesn't mean Steve's a chameleon. It means he's singular. Delicate Steve Sings is a record centered on channeling iconic voices with his guitar. In doing so, Marion is casting himself in the role of iconic singers like Willie who make standards their own. In the process, he reveals just how singular (dare we say iconic) that voice is. The guitar sings these songs-smoothly, sweetly, boldly, and on it's own terms. Recorded with Jonathan Rado on bass, Kosta Galanopolous on drums, Renata Zeiguer providing strings, and co-writer Elliot Bergman, the album features both original songs with titles that suggest they might be new recordings of classics. "I'll Be There" is smooth like a lost Bill Withers track; "Easy for You" isn't the Elvis song of the same name, but there's a hint of the king in there, in addition to Marion's own takes onclassics such as the Emersons' "Baby," The Beatles' "Yesterday" and Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine." "You're tapping into something universal and in the consciousness of pop music," Steve says-tacit permission for his guitar to drift into vocal expressions he's internalized through years of close, repeated listening. Just like all the great singers.
