Usually I sit and stew on whatever I'm reviewing and go through more thought processes than what is probably required for my memoirs at age seventy let alone a blog with three followers. Here, I'm listening to it as I type. So there.
Yes, twenty years later we have a new Devo album. I was never a huge devotee of Devo. I mean, I turned up "Whip It" on the radio with everyone else and that was about it. And that album cover is hot. (See Katy Perry, this is how a sizzling album cover is done. And it's for a DEVO album, woman.)
1. Fresh - This was real catchy. Good beat, really got me tapping my toes.
2. What We Do - I think the right remix of it would make it beyond smashing. Cans we has one?
3. Please Baby Please - Like it. Maybe I don't have issue with "Please baby, please baby, baby baby please, baby" since the song's shorter? Maybe cause it kinda reminds me of an alien surfing in space and he took the Stray Cats hostage?
4. Don't Shoot (I'm A Man) - I actually like the rest of the entire song better than the chorus. "Don't shoot! I'm a MAAAAAAAn!" Meh. Didn't do it justice. I wanted to like a song that uses "don't taze me, bro" much better than this.
5. Mind Games - Solid song but probably nothing I'd play without playing the entire album. Would probably go great on a soundtrack for a romantic comedy somewhere.
6. Human Rocket - Awesome.
7. Sumthin' & 8. Step Up - These kinda meshed for me. It's like the weird kid in class that impressed you at first until you realize he doesn't really do anything else.
9. Cameo - We slow down a little. Would've liked it if we had slowed down even more. Devo continues the trend of repetitious lyrics. Yes, Devo does those great but let's shake it up a bit, too. It's okay.
10. Later Is Now - I'm listening to the album all the way through and by this time it feels like I've already heard this song earlier in the album. Nothing against the song itself. On it's own it doesn't have any other short-coming off the top of my head besides being a little less memorable than it should. Just starting to get a little melding-itis here: where one song sounds too similar to the other.
11. No Place Like Home - It starts off good but then Devo rememembered they forgot to repeat the title ad nauseum. This could've been a sweet, quiet moment in the album. Not to be. Pity because it really needed a couple.
12. March On - This sounds like the end theme to the coolest video game in the late 80's that was never made. Of course, I never made it to the end 'cause I kept dying. Nice way to close out.
I don't know if it's supposed to be ironic or not that the album's called "Something For Everybody" yet feels very pigeonholed. If that's the idea behind it, that's fine. I personally prefer something a little more diverse from 5-acorn albums. They have slow tracks, peppy ones, and some of the stuff in between. They run like a story even if all the tracks don't exactly go together. That doesn't seem to exist here. The tracks have a lot of sameness to them. It's a runner trying to keep the same speed. You need a hill or two.
At Rolling Stone, someone commented: "You could say there are too many lyrics. Too much singing. They are trying too hard to say something. I'm not sure what." That rings true to me, too. They talk so much that nothing stands out. Relax, boys. Your music's bitchin'. Simmer down for a moment and let us actually hear it.
All in all, not quite my cuppa but this album is still solid. 3.75 acorns.
¾Yes, I just rated this lower than Katy Perry. Her album had more keepers for me track-wise. Sowwy.
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