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The
Devlins
Waves
(Nettwerk)
The first thing you should know about the Devlins is that they
are named after the two brothers that lead the group. The second
thing you should know is that the Devlins have been quite misleadingly
compared to U2. Certainly there is a bit of jangle in the guitar
lines, and a bit of a dreamy quality to the vocals, but that
is true of so many bands past and present that declaring U2
the official forbears of that aesthetic is unfair. What about
the Byrds? They were a horribly important band that seemed to
have their heads (and guitars) in the clouds. I suppose the
fact that both bands hail from Ireland may also be responsible
for the haste of some to lump the two together. The primary
difference for me, all musical variations aside, is that the
Devlins sound like they still have a soul- and lacks the formulaic
drudgery. (No offence meant to current fans of U2)
The band hits a great stride on songs like "Careless Love,"
which may smack a bit too much of saccharine for more jaded
listeners, but still functions as a simple, but beautiful pop
song. Throughout the guitars jangle and chime with a simple
melody. "I'm everything that you made me, so now I'm nothing
at all," Colin Devlin sings on "Someday," responding
to pigeonholing before it even begins. Trying to cram this,
or any other, band into a conveniently labeled slot is giving
them short shrift.
It is true that the Devlins are quite tuneful in their way,
sometimes the music lacks something to make it really distinguishable.
The songs become a mishmash of reverb and mid-tempo drum beats,
which frustrates me, because the creative spark is obviously
there. But perhaps I am being too particular. The hell with
it, I am reviewing this album, it is my job to be particular.
The Devlins are catchy, and talented, but they sometimes sound
like a one-trick pony (perhaps another area where they could
be compared to U2… and don’t even pull that Achtung
Baby crap on me, you know it’s just Joshua Tree
with a drum machine).
Now that I’ve thoroughly pissed off U2 fans, I shall return
to the album at hand. Waves is a perfectly fine album
of silvery, beautiful, if slightly repetitive pop. It is not
rare or groundbreaking, but dang it, it’s enjoyable, and
my personal apologies to the Devlin brothers for using their
album as an excuse to unleash my frustrations on U2.
Reviewed by
Cody Shaffer
February 18th, 2005 |
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