Customer Reviews

Consent

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Devlins return with their atmospheric melodies on their third album, Consent, a much stronger disc and more consistent than their last release, Waiting. Irish brothers Colin & Peter Devlin produced and engineered the music themselves for the first time and received help from Tori Amos' production team of Mark Hawley & Marcel Van Limbeek, in addition to drummer Matt Chamberlain and their previous producer Pierre Marchand. Opening the album is the title track on which lead singer Colin explores his falsetto and makes Prince a little jealous in the process. The trippy "People Still Believing" would lend itself well to possible remixes while "There Is A Light" is progressed by a simple acoustic guitar melody. It's ashame that Consent is making its way to North America now because it will undeservingly get lost in the flood of melodic Britpop drowning the US market currently. Like many other British/Irish acts the Devlins have received key placement on Dawson's Creek and the soundtrack to Six Feet Under. Hopefully the Devlins can find their niche in the atmospheric Britpop and US markets and receive their long overdue commercial success.

The Devlins have been around longer than most people realize - as it's an average of 5 years between albums, most of us Devlins fans tend to go through serious withdrawl BUT that said, when they DO come out with a new work of art, it's truly that: a work of art - I've told the band and will tell you the same thing...though this may sound a bit like a beer commercial, still, it's truth: there is NO filler in a Devlins Album. You won't have to fast forward through tracks for a good one or for that one song you like because frankly, they could and SHOULD all be singles! Drift and Waiting, their other two CD's out there are also phenomenal, my favorite being Drift for the darker and more passionate songs, this CD, however, is taking that passion to new heights! There's a reason this is fast becoming the heavy favorite for hard core Devlins fans out there - it's bloody brilliant.
PS: This group has a large word-of-mouth fan-base.....please please please tell your friends to check out Devlins music, they won't be sorry!

The Devlins have a distinctive sound, driven mainly by Colin Devlin's unique style. The more you listen, the more it grows on you. His voice ranges from clear and true on "There Is a Light" to seductive on "Static in the Flow" to bemused worldweariness on the dry wit (or is it biting sarcasm?) of "Montreal"--"You'll probably think my accent is sooo sweet." "Yeah, which war?". The Devlins make particularly good use of sampling to set the tone of this one, including the completely instrumental "Metro". Guitars, as always with them, are played with a lot of versatility, now exquisitely moody and Spanish on one song, for example, now light and playful on another. There isn't a bad song on the CD, although I would have put "Consent" somewhere other than as the first track myself. It's one of those rare finds that you can play from beginning to end without reaching for the "skip" button, which is why I opted for the fifth star.

The Devlins simply are where we would have liked U2 to evolve in the last 10 years. "Waiting" was their "Joshua Tree" and this one is nearly as good.

It took me a very long time to come to love this album. After listening to it on and off for about 2 years, it finally grew on me. In fairness, I have to revise my origial review, which did not give the album enough credit based on the mood of the album. This really is a very good album. But it is a fairly gloomy album in comparison to "Drift" and "Waiting", albums I absolutely love. And that gloominess originally put me off of the album and made it hard to enjoy after the energy and enthusiasm of their first two albums.

So my new review of the album is this: Like their previous albums, this is a great album. It's well put together and flows amazingly well. The Devlins are probably better at album flow and composition than any other artist or band I've heard. However, the album is pretty dark and maudlin, which is a departure from their previous style. If that's not a problem for you, and you are already a fan, than this album will more than likely appeal to you.

The Devlins have a sound that they don't feel the need to monkey with. Empty hallways and midnight hours- the music has a background moody effect and CONSENT stays true to this. If you enjoyed the other two CD's than you will also favor CONSENT. The lyric is hot and funky while the sound is a murky wash of bass,arching guitars, and rich undertones that sound fresh but familiar to the Devlins faithful. Title cut pulls you in and it would take a huge act of will not to let the disc play on till the last track ends. Then Repeat as needed.

I simply love this album.

I think this is their the most beautiful and mature piece of work.

Please keep up good work guys-I'll see you in NYC.