Inspired by a visit to Utah’s Arches National Park and Jeff Bridges’ Oscar-winning turn as a boozed-up country singer in 2009’s Crazy Heart, “Never Let Go” is the second sonic shot fired by Johnny Delaware in advance of his upcoming LP, Para Llevar, available November 1 on Normaltown/New West.
“I recorded this song in a hotel in Mexico City,” says Delaware, who’s also an integral part of Susto, the folk- and country-skewed indie-rock act from Charleston, S.C. “I really wanted to have a warm and honest track for Para Llevar, and the chords felt endearing enough to allow raw and real lyrics. It’s a song about looking forward to the end of the road, when long-distance lovers finally unite.”
Para Llevar follows Energy Of Light, an album made in 2022 after the native South Dakotan’s move to Mexico City. This one is even more nomadic, recorded in studios and hotel rooms throughout the United States, Mexico and various parts of Latin America. Delaware produced Para Llevar on his own, playing most of the instruments and lending it a casual psychedelic vibe that evokes the Laurel Canyon aesthetic at its most vibey and approachable.
When it came time to make a video for the C&W-flavored “Never Let Go,” Delaware was after something different. “I could’ve gone with the typical drive-around-in-a-truck-and-lip-sync approach,” he says. “But it’s the most heartfelt track on the album, so it was important to find someone who could strike a river of emotion through animation.”
He found that in visual artist El Oms. “I saw a Hermanos Gutiérrez video a few years back, and I was blown away by how well done it was,” he says. “It stuck with me, so I knew we had to reach out to El Oms. When the pen comes to paper, it comes from a profound place that resonates in my heart like a singing bowl. So it was a real honor talking over the phone and getting to know him, organizing the video together and stepping out of the way so he could do his thing.”
We’re proud to premiere the video for Johnny Delaware’s “Never Let Go.”
—Hobart Rowland; photo by Ismael Mendez
