Although you may have never heard of him, Delicate Steve is back with his latest release “This Is Steve.”

To me, the album automatically differentiates itself from the slew of other instrumental rock albums out there. The music sounds happy, bombastic and above all, energetic as all get out. My initial reaction upon first listen was to get out of my seat and start bogeying, much to the probably chagrin of my fellow editorial staff.

Steve’s riffs are fuzzy and dynamic. The result of the combination is a record that, to me, sounds like summer. Each individual track’s accompanying instruments fill the gaps left by Steve’s guitar. Those fills are in excellent form. Each part of a track on “This Is Steve” comes together in a euphonious sound. Some of those sounds are twangy and some are straight rock sounding, but all in all, the tracks are great.

One of the cooler things about the album would be the visual component. New York City filmmaker Oscar Boyson teamed up with Steve to create a single-take video for the entirety of “This Is Steve.” The titular musician sits in an arm chair, accompanied by a dark blue backdrop and plays the entire album out on his various guitars. In a time when artists like Frank Ocean and Beyoncé put forth so much effort, cinematography and hype regarding their visual aspects, it’s relieving to see something so simplistic presented in the same manner as previous artists.

Previously, I’ve only listened to Delicate Steve’s first release “Wondervisions” and honestly, I feel like I’ve been missing out. To me, this is a different form of instrumental music. I used to rely on instrumental music to solely do homework and focus on productive things, but “This Is Steve” really breaks that mold. I’d recommend for instrumental fans to get out of their more experimental rut and take some time with Delicate Steve. Just don’t forget your dancing shoes and denim vests.

Will Izzo can be contacted at [email protected].