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Steve Marion is the Steve behind Delicate Steve, and we already talked to him earlier this year about insanely catchy, wordless guitar melodies as presented on his third full-length record This Is Steve. After putting out two albums with David Byrne’s world music-focused label Luaka Bop, on This Is Steve Marion is heading for the indie big leagues by signing with Anti Records. This new record has certainly raised his profile outside of more insular New York circles, and his appearance on NPR’s beloved Tiny Desk concert series is only further proof of that.
Along with Max Jaffe on drums, Jon Wiley on acoustic guitar, and Jessica Pavone on bass, Marion and his band were able to capture all the things that make his music so fascinating and singular. It’s a music driven by emotion, the primary one being joy, and even when the melodies veer toward sadness or contemplation, a bright, fierce line of life shoots through all of them. It’s incredible to hear songs with this much emotion and not a single lyric, but they evoke everything you’d want from a musical experience without a word being spoken. Watch the performance above and check out Steve’s latest below in case you haven’t heard it.
