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Local band Delta Spirit's new release, 92101 rooftops, the Hubbell House, and five books to read

Posted Friday, February 17, 2012, 02:05PM

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Delta Spirit

A local band soars with another release

No surprise that Delta Spirit’s new self-titled album (out March 13) is relentlessly optimistic. Their first album, after all, was named Ode to Sunshine. What’s surprising is that the San Diego-born quintet has ditched the Americana sound that defined its first two records for a synth-y, 1980s vibe. “Time Bomb” sounds like the score to a John Hughes prom night flick, and the soaring refrains in “Yamaha” bring to mind recent tourmates My Morning Jacket. Animated by energetic percussion, the 11 tracks always seem to go toward the light (maybe because they were recorded in a 19th-century church?). Matt Vasquez’s scratching, surging voice rarely misses the mark except on “Home,” when he’s a bit too possessed by the holy spirit. But the catchy “Otherside” makes you want to hop around like a teenage girl in front of your bedroom mirror and the fuzzy guitars and ooh-oohs help make “California” the prettiest, dreamiest song you’ll ever hear about a relationship unraveling. Deltaspirit.net

// RZS

Hubbel House, Listed

Artist James Hubbell’s iconic Wynola residence gets a big shout-out in Handmade Houses: A Century of Earth-Friendly Home Design, out this month. Author and former Architectural Digest editor Richard Olsen explores early “green” houses from North America and Europe in this illustrated book. Congrats, Hubbell, house it feel? Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the Mad Men Era

SEE IT NOW: 92101 Rooftops

Photographer Justin Lee has captured our downtown cityscape in a series of photos on canvas. They’ll be on display at Basic in the East Village, March 15.

Your Shelf Life

// ANGELA CARONE


Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the Mad Men Era By Jim Heimann, Steven Heller	Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Jeanette Winterson	A Partial History of Lost Causes By Jennifer DuBois	The Fallback Plan By Leigh Stein	The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller
This two-volume set showcases the best ads from the ‘50s and ‘60s, along with some of the most brilliant advertising campaigns in history.	Winterson’s memoir chronicles her early struggles with sexuality in the face of her adoptive mother’s religious fundamentalism; a search for her birth mother, and a devastating breakdown.	When a young lecturer learns she may have the same fatal disease that killed her father, she takes off for Russia to find the former chess champ turned presidential candidate her dad sought for advice.	Esther Kohler, fresh from Northwestern with a theater degree, reluctantly moves back in with her parents. She’s soon babysitting for a family that recently lost a child and becomes entangled in their dysfunction.	The classics scholar’s novel reimagines the Iliad, staying true to its spirit yet fleshing out the relationships. The book is already getting rave reviews from Ann Patchett (author of Bel Canto) and Emma Donoghue (Room).