The story surrounding Delicate Steve’s album Wondervisions is a one-of-a-kind fable of authenticity that begins with Yale Evelev, the head of record label Luaka Bop. Evelev had a crazy idea. To generate interest in Wondervisions, he asked one of my favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman, to write a press release on the album without interviewing Delicate Steve or listening to the record. What resulted is a hilarious combination of fiction and satire that transforms the one-man band into a five-piece “hydro-electric Mothra,” touching on everything from post-rock minotaurs and a mountain of General Tso’s chicken to Big East football and a band member who will “fight a dog for no reason.” You really have to read it. While the NPR story that alerted me to the whole episode seemed to paint the press release in a somewhat negative light, I think the moral rings true: take the time to explore new music, because shows and albums are often promoted by people who don’t actually listen to the bands. All lessons aside, Wondervisions is fantastic. The real Delicate Steve, Steve Marion, is a wildly talented composer who, with an array of guitar effects, pedals and samples, crafts elaborate melodies that stretch across octaves and lodge themselves deep in your brain. I’m always impressed when an artist can string together so many notes in a memorable way, especially without the benefit of words. He clearly has a gift, and I encourage you to check out “Butterfly” below and the rest of Wondervisions and find out why I’m so excited to have found him, minotaurs or no minotaurs.