Sean Baker recently won four Oscars and the Palme D’Or for Anora, a tragicomic love story between a stripper and a wealthy Russian heir. He’s gained a cult following over the years for making films about people on the margins and finally broke into the mainstream with his finest work yet.
Willy Vlautin of The Delines was quite touched when I compared his work to Baker’s. Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom is an award-worthy masterpiece that represents the pinnacle of Vlautin’s career. Lead singer Amy Boone takes on the Mikey Madison role as the star giving that makes it all work. She also pushed Vlautin to write a few happier songs, something that made this project particularly special. All tragedy all the time is not as enjoyable to listen to, nor is it the most accurate representation of even most harder lives.
“I want a love story once in a while, I want a song where nothing bad happens,” Vlautin recalls Boone saying.
In the form of the title track, he delivers. Like most Vlautin characters, Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom have their scars. Unlike many others, they’re treated to copious amounts of sex and happily ever after.
“I guess it fell apart from there,” Vlautin admits. There are some fantastic love songs on the rest of the album, but always with a tragic edge. And there are songs with happy endings, but the characters have to go through hell to get there. But all the stories feel plausible and lived in. Aside from the villains, all these rough and tumble characters are written with love and respect. They’re meant to be rooted for.
“Her Ponyboy” stands out as the saddest song on the record for just those reasons. The two lovers are given a long, winding back story and a determination to travel together that seems more grand than foolish in Vlautin’s telling. So when one of them passes from an overdose, especially following that happy love song, it’s a gut check.
“A lot of the imagery comes from Portland,” Vlautin said. “Portland has an immense amount of young people living on the streets. You can’t help but to have that soak in to what you’re working on.”
The length and complexity of his characters stories are exceptional even in the world of roots music.
“I write novels for a living,” said Vlautin, who has several books to his name. “Amy will want to throw me out of a window half the time. Heck, my old band Richmond Fontaine practically did throw me out a window for writing such long story songs.”
Songs like that may not be particularly commercially viable, but neither is country-tinged soul. If The Delines are going to produce a niche sound, they might as well aim for high art in their lyrics. Not many lyricists are more capable.
Vlautin’s devotion to his subject matter comes from personal experience. Many of his friends and the people he worked with in his youth either once were homeless, became homeless, or both.
“I grew up in Reno,” Vlautin said. “At the time it was a town with a big segment of drifters, a lot of folks living out of motels. It was never lost on me how close it was from where I was living to maybe ending up in a motel. I’ve always written out of both romanticism and fear. I could’ve ended up like any of these characters. I possibly still could.”
Part of what makes Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom such an enjoyable record is the hard won victories many of its women achieve. In “Left Hook Like Frazier,” a woman who’s survived a lot gives advice to younger women on the types of men to avoid. “JP and Me” shows a relationship that slowly soured, but the woman manages to get away and he begins showing signs of instability.“Nancy and the Pensacola Pimp” puts Nancy through a lot, but she certainly has her revenge. Same with the main character in “Sitting on the Curb.” “Maureen’s Gone Missing,” a song in which Maureen would certainly be in mortal danger, comes across as comparatively lighthearted and fun.
“I did that for Amy,” said Vlautin. “We both grew up with grifter movies. There’s a lot of grifters in this record. She said ‘Can’t a woman just get away with the money? Like really get away. And don’t kill her.’”
Vlautin did a great job not killing the women of Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom, but he was right not to listen to Boone too much about those happy endings. One character gets two songs and a story that’s less exciting than unjust. Somehow, it hits the hardest.
The tone of “Don’t Miss Your Bus Lorraine” doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the album. Oddly, this is a good thing. It’s the one song where the empathy and straight up storytelling Vlautin has shown himself to be capable of vanishes. In its place is the voice of society treating a released felon harshly. It’s telling her she can’t or shouldn’t make it. It’s emphasizing the pressure of every little action for a person on parole. In speaking to Lorraine that way, Vlautin gives his listeners the chance to be spoken to that way. It’s a completely brilliant detour that generates sympathy from a lack of showing it. And somehow the track also shows the life of a marijuana convict coming out to discover the world has had a complete change in attitude toward the drug but not her.
A few tracks later, when it comes time to close the album, The Delines revisit Lorraine’s story. “Don’t go into that house Lorraine” are the only lyrics. The music is slow and forbodding. Boone’s voice is exhausted and hopeless. After a few stories where the woman comes out unscathed, Vlautin throws us back into the harsh realities of life on the margins.
“You’re not sure if she’s going to go in or not,” said Vlautin. “Amy’s voice kind of hints at what’s going to happen. She’s like an actress in a way. But it leaves that hope.”
At that point, Vlautin started speaking to his character: “Lorraine I know it’s hard, just don’t miss your bus. Maybe you’ll get a raise, maybe you’ll get a better job, maybe you won’t end up living by a freeway your entire life.”
Despite having written the album, Vlautin insists he’s not sure of the outcome.
“You don’t know if the women in any of these situations make it through,” said Vlautin. “Half the characters will give in and will go into that house, you’re just not sure which ones.”
Ultimately, for Vlautin and his characters, it’s not clear whether it’s life imitating art or vice versa.
“If she makes it, I’ll make it,” Vlautin said of Lorraine. “And if she doesn’t make it, then that means I’m not doing so good in my personal life.”
Vlautin thinks it’s quite possible Lorraine will walk into that house but immediately realize that it’s not the right place for her. Perhaps Boone isn’t the only one in the band hoping for the Hollywood ending. Together, they’re worthy of the Oscar.
Above is the full episode as aired on WUSB’s Country Pocket, including both my interview with Willy Vlautin and the songs we discussed, starting with Her Ponyboy, which Vlautin picked as his favorite on the album. The interview begins with the second video in the playlist. You can hear the show live every Tuesday at 12pm on WUSB 90.1 FM or check the blog to watch it as a YouTube playlist. Visit http://www.WUSB.fm and https://www.thedelines.com for more.
Country Pocket 