The Devastations are a three-piece band out of Australia, whose eponymous debut album, far from the metal extravaganza their name might suggest, is a mostly quiet and passionate affair. It is also strikingly consistent, featuring a number of particularly compelling songs and no real filler. Due to their country of origin and singer/bassist Conrad Standish’s low voice, the band is destined to suffer countless comparisons to compatriot Nick Cave (see above). The truth, however, is that while their fan bases are likely to overlap, the Devastations play a brand of rock ‘n roll that’s grittier, more direct, and less theatrical than Cave’s output.
After the album’s instrumental opener, the band charges through "Loene," a muscular but rounded ode to a lost love. The next song, "Previous Crimes," is the first of several gorgeous, almost mournful, and apparently effortless ballads, in which the trio is accompanied by a piano and strings. These first few songs are fairly representative of the album’s overall sound, but that’s not to say the band never deviates from the pattern. For example, guitarist Tom Carlyon punctuates two songs, "Hold Me" and "Under," with furious, distorted solos that stand out against the album’s tensely controlled feel.
In fact, if I had to make a complaint, it would be that the band don’t let themselves go more often on this record. In concert, their songs build like brewing storms and then burst with dissonant guitar and drums like firecrackers. Still, it’s hard to imagine a much more assured debut than this, and in many ways the quiet and beautiful harmonies of "You Can’t Reach Me Now" and especially "We Will Never Drink Again" are more stirring than the loudest and fastest moments on the disc. The Devastations’ versatility emerges not through deliberate eclecticism, but through their ability to make a slow ballad scorch you like a barnburner — and that is a rare ability indeed.
1. He Wasn't Like That When I Knew Him
2. Loene
3. Previous Crimes
4. Hold Me
5. Ausencia
6. You Can't Reach Me Now
7. We Will Never Drink Again
8. Love Doesn't End Like That
9. Under
10. Sleeping Dogs
More about: The Devastations
