In the years since he first surfaced from the depths that spawned him, Delaney Davidson has been one of the most vividly realized characters in New Zealand music. Self Decapitation and Bad Luck Man it seems were paving the way for greater, grittier things to arrive. His new album Swim Down Low is a rough cut slice of bad taste blues and it makes for one hell of a record.
As you dive in you are treated to heartsick howlers, fishing tales, backwater dramas, and all manner of rancid little ditties. And it all still exists within in that same realm of country he mined for the award-winning Sad But True series. The difference is that the twang has been left out in the sun too long and it has grown sour. His stabs at sentimentality (such as 'The Poison Song') manage to be sincere even if you're constantly waiting for that knowing wink or a sly tip of his hand.
The album closes out with a cover of Nick Lowe's 'The Beast in Me' - a modern country staple that meshes in seamlessly with his broke-down persona. Swim Down Low is an album that is sincere and vicious in equal measure.
