This exhaustive compendium of prolific punk weirdness documents 25 years of uncompromisingly off kilter songs by The American Devices. Montreal’s longest running punk band (32 years!) The Devices share members with other ur-punx of legend, The Normals and The Electric Vomit and have a dizzy-ngly complex history within the local underground music scene that’s documented by a hand-drawn flow chart by guitarist/singer/cartoonist Rick Trembles.
The first era skirts the no-wave obtuseness of UJ3RK-5 and some Martha and the Muffins upbeats chorus-y dance riffs, offset by Trembles’ understated but acerbically effective deadpan singing. “Coalshaft” is a tight lo-fi headsnap of a track, and cheesily punk keyboards lay down some sauce on the subsequent tunes “Got The Feeling It’s..” and the charging “Hitler”.
By the middle of the 80s we’re mashing the hell out of the era-specific sounds, tweaking early digital reverb and vocal pad-shots over wildly skittering contrapuntal, chorused riffage with abandon on the centre-piece “Party Pooper”. Darkly bass-driven melodic-ism is king on the Sonic Youth-y “Suck My Rocks” and the new wavier ’83 jam “UXB”.
The 90s see The American Devices trade in their chorus pedals for a bit more sneer, sass and fuzziness, kicking it off with the fucked rock of “Decensortized” and culminating in the pounding lo-fi kick to the face of “Wetmare”. The 90s seem to encourage a loosening up of both Trembles and companion guitarist (and Normals frontman) Rob Labelle, and suddenly ripping guitar lines and nimble solo runs are sprinkled throughout the ADD madness of each song’s scaffolding.
Winding up the tour are a clutch of early-ought recordings, the last and most badass of which, “Bunco Unction” arrives at the current devastating lineup of The American Devices: alongside Trembles and Labelle’s guitar wizardry are bass terrorist Andre Asselin and drummer/cartoonist Howard Chackowicz (both also of Nutsak and Howard also known as radio personality “Howard” on CBC’s “Wiretap”)
Longevity for bands is not the easiest thing to achieve. Longevity coupled with an incessant ability and desire to explore, challenge oneself and the listener and grow in interesting and strange ways almost an impossibility. Perhaps being geographically rooted in a spot that’s historically been safe harbor for strange and experimental music, or just a respect and love of craft, with nary a thought for what appeals or is hip. Now that so many bands are trying to sound like some of The Devices ’70s work, the chorus pedal is ironically creeping back into acceptance. It’ll never ring as true as on this treasure chest of tunes, not only a showcase of ace musicianship being applied to something other than wanky showoff-ery, but also a trippy, fucked up and eminently danceable punk party.
http://www.snubdom.com/bandnew01.htm
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-american-devices/id492176455
