The internet is great. I discovered Devin Davis after hearing his "Cannons at the Courthouse" played on KEXP, the great public radio station in Seattle. As soon as I got home from work, I looked him up on Rhapsody, and after hearing only a few of his songs I knew I had to buy his record. It's called Lonely People of the World, Unite!, and it has quickly become one of my favorite albums.
Davis is an artist from Chicago who recorded this short (under 40 minutes) but amazing collection in his basement over the course of a couple of years. He plays nearly all of the instruments himself (from the album liner: "vocals, guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, organ, piano, percussion, theremin, trumpet, trombone, giant gong [ed.: (!)]"). And these aren't wussy Sufjan banjos or strings, either (not that those are bad!)-- Mr. Davis really rocks out on this album. Case in point: as the instant classic "Iron Woman" builds to its climax, a blistering tenor solo gives way to a mean electric guitar lick and a trumpet/trombone/sax outro.
No song on this record is bad, but since "brevity is the soul of wit," I'll just point out some of my favorites. The aforementioned "Iron Woman" is an great, high-energy opener, telling the story of a modern-day "caveman" who is heartbroken when his "Viking girl" ditches him for some "high-society friends" and a "General's shiny stars": "Iron Woman, / Wrestle off all the rivets around your heart. / Iron Woman, / I can still draw your picture in the dark."
When I first heard "Cannons at the Courthouse," it reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945," with its fuzzy guitar-and-piano stomp and absurdist lyrics. The track packs so many twists and reverses into its 4:11 playing time, though, that it can't be accused of being a counterfeit. "Sandie" is similarly hard to classify, but it's basically a country-tinged power-pop ballad that builds to its climax with an "After the Gold Rush"-style French horn solo.
The album really hits its stride with the last three tracks. "Giant Spiders" combines a nuclear doomsday scenario ("If we're curled up into a little ball / Behind some thick lead walls / We should be fine, if we can survive the giant spiders") with an insanely catchy, cheerful chorus: "No, I won't sit still / 'til I'm upside-down in the back of your eyes." "The Choir Invisible" begins with simple acoustic guitar and organ, layers on an "invisible choir" of ooohs and sensitive power-ballad electric guitar, and fades out in a burst of fireworks. "Deserted Eyeland" similarly builds to a full, horn-laden arrangement reminiscent of the Beatles circa Sgt. Pepper, and closes the album on a note of hopeful melancholy. The speaker realizes that "We all live on a deserted island," finding community in his loneliness and echoing the imperative from "Giant Spiders" that gives the album its title: "Lonely people of the world, unite!"
In conclusion: get this album! Support Devin Davis by buying it through his own label, Mousse Records, here. It only costs a bit more than Amazon ($12 plus shipping in the U.S.), and you'll rest sounder knowing you supported a great independent voice in music. You might even get a personal note: my package contained a little, signed thank-you note from Mr. Davis that made me feel all warm and tingly inside. Who knows-- maybe it'll be worth something someday.
Links:
*Devin Davis' website
*Devin Davis on MySpace - there is a media player here that will let you stream album standouts "Giant Spiders," "Iron Woman," and "Cannons at the Courthouse." There are some mp3s available at his website.
*Pitchfork gave the album a 7.2 rating (out of 10)
*cokemachineglow's rave review
Thanks for listening.
Posted by smit2174 at February 21, 2006 8:18 PM | TrackBack
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