Secret Evil has finally landed. For two years the debut album by Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas had hung suspended in the ether, a delay in its release caused by a record company merger. But now it has finally fallen to earth and the long wait proves to have been well worthwhile.
Earlier this year, ‘Caught Up’ – the title track from their first EP to have been released in this country – served notice of what to expect from this Detroit six-piece band. On reflection, though, its exhilarating rush of garage rock and soul was really scant preparation for the tremendous diversity of sound that Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas manage to capture on Secret Evil. Vintage rhythm and blues, surf rock, delightful Latin and Cuban grooves, rockabilly, big beautiful bluesy ballads (‘Cry Cry Cry’ and the album closer ‘Lovers First’ are really quite exquisite) and good old fashioned rock’n’roll also prove to be well within this band’s huge musical compass, and each and every one of them comes shot through with their well-defined ear for a killer pop tune.
The Deltas are undeniably tight, whip-crack sharp and well versed in the grandest traditions of revivalist popular music, but for all that they are superb the real star of this particular show remains Jessica Hernandez herself. In possession of a magnificent, sassy voice that immediately draws comparisons with Imelda May and Amy Winehouse, she has that unerring ability to sink her teeth deep into the heart of a song and appear to never let go. This is never more true than on ‘Neck Tattoo’ where she swoops and soars all over the song’s melody in a breathless rash of unbridled intensity.
[Rating:4]
Secret Evil was released on 14th August 2015 through Instant Records
