Bluegrass’ public perception says it’s a moribund genre with a small, albeit passionate, fanbase. It’s likely true. Traditional Americana styles such as bluegrass, traditional country, blues, big band, and jazz haven’t enjoyed commercial clout since the first half of the 20th century. Our modern tendency, however, to conflate sales with artistic viability blinds many of us to their enduring value. Nick Chandler and Delivered’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me Anymore” rebukes the notion that bluegrass has nothing new to say about what it means to be alive and newcomers, especially those with an affinity for the style, will be fans for life after hearing it.
URL: https://nickchandleranddelivered.com/
The band is full of voices. “I Don’t Wanna Be Me Anymore” has a lead vocal, naturally, but fleshing it out with Delivered’s full gamut of voices betters the track. It’s never coy or excessively gentle but the harmonies deepen the emotional impact of David Stewart’s lyrics. It’s one of the finest examples of plain-spoken performed poetry I’ve heard in recent memory. There are no high-flown flights of language, obscure imagery, no overreaching. The song’s first person point of view closes the distance between singer and listener; attentive fans will experience each emotional turn as if they are living it.
There’s a light jump in the pace that you don’t often hear in bluegrass and the subject matter isn’t uniform with tradition. Chandler and Delivered bend the composition to their will, however, without ever losing its spirit and meaning. There are none of the customary generalities common to many bluegrass lyrics. Instead, there’s an increased specificity that never makes listeners feel uncomfortable. It heightens the song’s gravitas.
That’s an unexpected turn given its light musical touch. Saying light though shouldn’t mislead readers into believing they give the song a superficial treatment. Nick Chandler and Delivered’s instrumental prowess is the launching pad that sends “I Don’t Wanna Be Me Anymore” into the stratosphere. Bringing banjo, mandolin, guitar, and upright bass together isn’t breaking new ground, of course, but the restraint and taste they bring to their individual performances show them to be a cut above the rest.
They have several releases in their rearview mirror and even a global pandemic hasn’t silenced their creativity. I believe you can expect Nick Chandler and Delivered to continue recording and releasing new music as long as they are alive, but they will never be static. There’s a creative yearning in their music, a longing to see what’s over the next hill, that will serve them well. It hasn’t failed them so far.
It will serve their admirers well too. Some music fans, whether they realize it or not, value “honest” music. Performers who don’t pretend to be someone they aren’t, musicians who don’t rely on bells and whistles, the unimpeachable truth of a singer/songwriter with their guitar. If you are one of those music fans, Nick Chandler and Delivered’s new single “I Don’t Wanna Be Me Anymore” will be an ideal listening experience that keeps you coming back for more.
Chadwick Easton