Top 10 of 2012: #8 Delta Spirit - Empty House 

Delta Spirit - "Empty House"

You'll often hear about Bruce Springsteen as the hardest working man in show business (which was probably inherited from James Brown). In a few years, I think that mantle might be passed onto Delta Spirit.

Delta Spirit tours, and they tour relentlessly. This year, they were touring on their newest album (their third, which was, oddly, self-titled). We saw them three times in Boston this year. And each and every time, they seemingly played with as much energy as if it was the only show of the tour. Google around for Delta Spirit live review. You'll find lots of links like this one. No one goes home not getting their money's worth.

Setting aside their ridiculously good live performances, their on-disc (on bit? on byte?) performances are stellar. And no song, I think, represents the storytelling, lyricism, and musicianship of Delta Spirit than "Empty House". Starting with the guitars fading in, heading right into the beginning of the this quintessentially Springsteenian song about a working man caught up in the world of not having money and maybe scraping by on the less legal side. Then the drums kick in, and the song hits a higher gear.

This song really captures Delta Spirit's essence, including Matthew Vasquez's singing (and a bit of his lyrical screaming), and you can tell that they would really just kick your ass playing this live.