Customer Reviews

Lonely People of the World Unite

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this album has impact that it should, Devin will not be lonely for long. His album covers all the bases of rock. Great drums, distorted guitars, horns and fireworks!?? The technical aspects of the music are solid. Devin is a talented musician and more. Come on, he played, recorded, mixed, engineered, and arranged everything himself. The music is infectious, after the first play I have yet to get the chorus from 'Turtle and the Flightless Bird' out of my head. He references the Monkees, Willie Nelson and there is a looming presence of Beatles pop power. His lyrics are clever and each song is concise enough to keep an ADD kid attentive. If you do not already own this album, order one and prepare to rock out.

Rarely will I applaud an album that has vocals that are hoarsely shouted instead of sung, voice wavering in the keys. But you know the type of album that happens when someone's adequately studied their record collection and knows what _works_ in rock'n'roll? This is for the Sloan, Flashing Lights and New Pornographers fans out there: this guy can _rock_. He also knows his way around the studio, picking up most any instrument he can find. The arrangements are just the right amount of sloppy (think "Sticky Fingers"), the music often wants to make you hit the accelerator pedal while cruising. The occasional wit is strong enough to appreciate while tasteful enough not to wince. "Iron Woman" and "When I Turn Ninety-Nine" are a 1-2 startoff punch that starts off by showing a balls-rock thing or two to the punk-popsters and the stone-rockers, quickly following with a distorted T-Rex-type boogie that doesn't hesitate to include a bridge that sounds like a pensive beat group on prellies (say, early early Who) after imbibing the influence of the Zombies. What follows afterwards is a kaleidoscope of styles and influences, often one-upping those who are best known for pulling these aces from their sleeves. IMO, the album only falters when the blues-romp piano intro of "Paratroopers with Amnesia" begins, but by that time seven excellent tracks have already played. Not to say the album stops at the eighth track: "Giant Spiders" brings "Who's Next"-era Who into the 21st century Top-40 (complete with _that_ synthesizer), "The Invisible Choir" is one last stab at intelligencia, and "Distorted Eyeland" surprisingly comes across as John Mayer flashbacking to 1967's Summer of Love albums. Words can't do it justice, go listen to the sample MP3s at www.devindaviswebsite.com a few times and then buy the album. These ones don't show up everyday.

When you begin writing anything: whether it is a short story, poetry, or a power pop song, it's impossible to not be derivative--we all internalize our influences and translate them in our own style. As an artist matures, he begins to more successfully blend he influences with his own style and finds his own voice. Devin Davis' "Lonely People" is clearly derivative (and may be subjected to criticism because of it) but I personally have no complaints because Davis has (1) clearly chosen some of the best of the genre to emulate and (2) has pulled off an entertaining collection of songs reminiscent Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend". If you miss Ray Davies' power pop and are looking for someone who rocks the same chords with the energy of the Spiders From Mars, check this CD out. It isn't going to change the world or anything, but it will make it a lot groovier.

Eat a ham if you disagree, eat a ham if you do agree. Either way I think you should eat a ham.

I live in the 60657 zip code, which is also home to Wrigley Field, the Metro, the Vic, and apparently Mousse Records, record label that currently consists of only one release, this album. So forgive me if I presume to consider Devin Davis not merely a Chicago artist, but a Lakeview artist (Lakeview being what we who live here call the area, but which bartenders and those not living in the area tend to call Wrigleyville).

Devin Davis is the ultimate do-it-all performer, even if he doesn't quite do it all. On this album, while he undertakes the vast majority of the musical parts, he does solicit help at a few points. But as producer, sound engineer, label owner, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist (he is listed as playing guitar, bass, drums, sax, organ, piano, percussion, Theremin, trumpet, trombone, and--I'm not making this up--giant gong) Davis really is the whole show. He even designed his own website. All of this seems quite appropriate for an album entitled LONELY PEOPLE OF THE WORLD UNITE.

This album is going remind people of the work of a lot of other power pop performers out there. Some have mentioned Brendan Benson and I can certainly see some of that. Actually, I find him similar to any of a host of performers who have been more or less inspired by Ray Davies, probably the godfather of them all. But this is not to suggest that he merely sounds like a knock off of more familiar performers. This album is a great one and it is so simply because of its inherent qualities. Basically, if you love hook-laden melodies and marvelously constructed and performed songs, this album will suck you in and delight you. The playing is so fine that you'll never suspect that Davis is doing all of the playing. It really does sound like a first rate band at work. Some here don't seem to like his voice. I have to confess that while it doesn't blow me away I am not at any point bothered by it. It doesn't possess the idiosyncrasies of Danielson's Daniel Smith, which truly does impede my enjoyment of his various albums ("Danielson" being merely one of the names Smith uses for his projects), and I find Davis at least as decent as most Indie performers.

What really makes this album work in the end is the strength of the songs. The playing really is pretty amazing when you realize that all of it is Davis, but it still all comes back to the songs. This is an extremely strong group of songs and it is entirely possible for two different people to pick their four favorites and have no overlap between them. For the record, my four favorites would probably (well, at least today) be the first three--"Iron Woman," "When I Turn Nine-Nine," and "Turtle and the Flightless Bird"--and either "Transcendental Sports Anthem" or "Paratrooper with Amnesia" (see, I've already been reduced to cheating). But then there is "Moon Over Shark City." Even if played by a full band this would be a stunning song, but when you realize that the chorus of sounds--saxes, hard driving piano, gritty guitars--are all Davis, it becomes something barely short of miraculous.

Later this year Devin Davis will be releasing his second album. Sophomore efforts are notoriously difficult. It is going to be really hard for him to reproduce the brilliance of this first effort. But that is really not relevant to this album. If your musical tastes run towards people like the New Pornographers, Brendan Benson, Sloan, Essex Green, and the New Constitution, you will absolutely flip out over this album. Buy it and play it for your friends and witness their amazement.

While it is true to say that mainstream music has suffered, it is not true to say that music in general has suffered. Aside from a few notable exceptions, one has to search for good new music in today's world. Clearly, it's not like the days when two of the most popular groups (the Beatles and Stones) were also at or near the top of the artistic heap. Devin Davis' Lonely People of the World, Unite! is one such example of a top flight record known almost exclusively by individuals not tuned solely to mainstream music. The record is an excellent example of power pop, and stands comfortably along with the best that genre has to offer, (Jason Falkner, Brendan Benson, Sloan, New Pornographers, and the great Matthew Sweet to name a few). Davis is unique though, and has a character all his own.

While it is true that Davis does not have a traditionally appealing voice, he more than makes up for it in personality, and many of the songs are hilarious. Also, Davis is a versatile craftsman. The songs run the gamut from full blown power chord workouts (When I Turn Ninety-Nine) to gentle acoustic pieces (Sandie, The Choir Invisible). Some songs even combine the two styles with startlingly good results, like the Kinks influenced "Paratrooper With Amnesia," which progresses from a saloon style piano-rocker to a punk inspired blowout.

Instrumentally, the album is terrific. Davis plays nearly all of the instruments himself, and his choices are splendid. Lyrically, Davis imbues the songs with humor, "I never heard from my Viking girl again," (Iron Woman), or stream-of-consciousness with a touch of the absurd, "slidin' down the rope came Willie Nelson ... We smoked some reefer on the roof of the White House," (Cannons at the Courthouse). The album is strong from start to finish, and most of the titles are original and attention grabbing. Davis sounds like a fully assured veteran on this record, having recorded and mixed the album himself. While this is not as much of an achievement these days as it once was, it still is impressive, especially when it is done on a nationally distributed indie label. Lonely People of the World Unite! goes down as a strongly recommended record for fans of power pop and melody-driven indie rock, even if Davis has not received a great deal of attention. Simply put, the album deserves to be discovered by more listeners.

I don't care if anyone thinks I'm bias for putting a musician whose name is the same as mine at number one. This guy is the real deal. Lonely People of the World, Unite! flows in a way I have rarely heard albums flow before. Every single aspect of this album, from writing to production to instrumentation, is stellar. Lead track "Iron Woman" begins at breakneck speed, with a sense of immediacy rarely heard on an indie rock album. And Davis' driving force never slows down as the album races through ten more songs, each one just as good as the last. His voice may not be as good as those of his contemporaries, but he delivers each vocal track with a wail and a yelp, as if he's betting all he's got on these eleven tracks (which he probably has).

Devin Davis is unfortunately cursed with the ability to write some very good indie rock songs that are slightly ruined by his questionable delivery. "Iron Woman" and "Sandie", for example, are great sounding songs that, possibly with another singer, could be hitworthy tracks. He has a sort of rough/whiny voice most of the time which will turn a lot of people off, but it IS possible to stand it (compared to Action Action's and The Ponys' singer it's MUCH better). There are a couple bad songs here, but most of it is very well written and orchestrated, if not pretty lo-fi. Devin is clearly well-read and good with the English language. Musically it's like a mix between garage rock, indie rock and lo-fi which creates an interesting sound. I would've given this a "4.5" if it weren't for the generally unappealing nature of Devin's vocals. The album is not great, but it IS good. It's not for everyone, but indie rock fans who can stand his voice will probably like this CD. Recommended!

Highlights include:
"Iron Woman"
"When I Turn Ninety-Nine"
"Turtle & The Flightless Bird"
"Moon Over Shark City"
"Cannons At The Courthouse" (it's decent)
"Transcendental Sports Anthem"
"Sandie"
"Giant Spiders" (sort of)
"The Choir Invisible" (it's alright)

I first received this CD almost 2 years ago from one of Devin's good friends. I had known this guy, and respected his opinion and taste and knowledge of music so I checked it out. I was honestly blown away! I really just expected a decent album by a guy whose best friend was totally bias and was building him up, but it wasn't the case at all. This album is not only a fantastic debut album, but is a great album by any standards. It has not left my car since I got it! I don't think anyone could be disappointed by this album. It's funny, intelligent, and just straight up rocks. Devin is a phenominal musician/songwriter.

"I am crap rock." I got excited after reading a review of this, but what a disappointment. When will people figure out that rehashing 70s riffs doesn't necessarily make good music. The acoustic stuff really is betrayed by the "bigger sound" songs. Someone has been listening to Bowie. ;)