Taking time out in 2012 from his other band, Richmond Fontaine, to focus on his successful writing career, Willy Vlautin also found time to write new material that was inspired by the voice of Austin-based singer Amy Boone. Bringing on board fellow RF member Sean Oldham on drums, the Decemberists’ Jenny Conlee on keys, and Tucker Jackson on pedal steel, Vlautin created the Delines around Boone’s tough but haunting and vulnerable vocal style. The group headed to Portland, Oregon with producer John Askew (Laura Veirs, Neko Case) to record what would become the band’s debut album, Colfax. Released at the beginning of 2014, the album brought together Vlautin’s much-lauded tales of struggling characters from the American backwaters, with Boone’s incredibly emotive vocals.

The Sea Drift, their third album, sees them exploring the US Gulf Coast, not far from where Amy Boone grew up. The songs in this cinematic opus all focus around this area and are inspired by when Amy asked Willy Vlautin to write her a song like Tony Joe White’s ‘Rainy Night In Georgia’ after her tragic accident being hit by a car in 2016 and her 3 year recovery.