New Devin Townsend LP, Oct 28th 2022-08-26 by Fernando Alves STAFF | 45 Comments |
Canadian jack of all trades Devin Townsend has unveiled the first single, 'Moonpeople', from his upcoming studio album Lightwork, due out October 28th. The music video, directed and edited by the man himself, can be seen below.
Hey all :) this is Devin.
Welcome to my newest album 'Lightwork' The last few years have been a lot, and this is the music that I wrote during that time.
I try not to second guess when writing, so sometimes it's complicated, but then sometimes it's not. Sometimes it is steady, but often it's not. Lightwork was the next in line.
If you're already familiar with what I do, 'Lightwork' will probably then come as no surprise, though my hope (as always) is that you can enjoy these songs for what they are as opposed to what they aren't. I find it easy to compare to the last album or any of the other work, but I always get reminded at the end that it was just a different set of circumstances that ultimately required a different approach. Figuring out that approach may be the whole point.
In essence, Lightwork is a bit more of a ‘song’-oriented album. A bit more direct and simpler than a lot of what I’ve been doing lately. After ‘Empath’ and ‘The Puzzle,’ things kind of swung back in the direction of more traditional arrangements for Lightwork.
Lyrically, it kind of hints at the struggles of the last few years but with an eye on putting the pieces back together again.
Lightwork was difficult to make and as well, and it’s also been a struggle to decide on a single song that could summarize the whole experience. I typically write with a complete album in mind, so I feel any one song we release isn’t going to give a great overview as to what the album is supposed to be like.
However, we chose ‘Moonpeople’ as the first of three video releases from this project. The three videos share a theme, so I think that’ll work.
Moonpeople is the first song on Lightwork and acts as a sort of mission statement for the album. Post pandemic… kids are now teens… 50 years old, who am I now? Beyond any platitudes or delusions, who am I now that the smoke is clearing and what do I want to do, and who do I want to be, moving forward?
The term ‘Moonpeople’ in my mind, refers to those in society that kind of ‘watch’ things rather than being directly involved in it. Maybe the Moonpeople are more introverted rather than extroverted? In any case, it functions as a song on the album that will set the stage for the dynamic nature of the material that follows it.
When listening to this, I think it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. I did the best I could during very difficult circumstances, and I think it works very well. I love it. I’m clearly not where I was during the making of Empath or The Puzzle but I feel that looking back on the past few records it seems as if I was ‘looking for the bridge’ (metaphorically) while Lightwork is songs from actually being on it.
the videos: a few approaches were attempted to make the videos, but in the end, they just kept missing the mark. On a whim, I decided to try and make a video for myself while staying in Spain. My friend there had a good camera and a drone, so he filmed it which then I then edited it on my laptop. Maybe it’s not the world’s best video, but I would say it also doesn’t feel as pretentious as it could have been either.
‘Lightwork’ has an overarching theme of ‘a beacon in the storm’. The central image is a lighthouse, representing anything good in our lives we can hang into during times of upset. I viewed the intention of wanting to make music that helps people in some small way as being something to keep working towards amidst a sea of changes.
So here you go. Song one.
Take care of yourselves. I’ll be back on social media soon. I hope you enjoy Lightwork. I think that honestly it may take a bit to get used to, but once you do, my hope is that you’ll love it.
Devin
Visit, share & support:
https://facebook.com/dvntownsend
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Tagged: Devin Townsend
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I've listened to this a few times but I'm not sure how I feel yet. As far as songwriting goes it's pretty standard for Dev but the arrangement is fairly unusual. We'll see.
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Hmm
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I slep
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I have enjoyed this more than anything from puzzle, snuggles, or empath. I'm excited!
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My concern is that the other music preview for this album sounded like the same midpaced hard rock anthem with Anneke van Giersbergen he's been doing since 2009.
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I really didn’t enjoy that.
I saw him share it earlier on Facebook and was going to make a news story myself but then I listened and just felt a bit disappointed.
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"I have enjoyed this more than anything from puzzle, snuggles, or empath. I'm excited!"
Yep, not sure what it is but this track just feels fresher than his other recent releases. Still won't get my hopes up massively but it's a nice start
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Feels like a natural progression from Empath. Already preordered so I’ll just wait and see what everything turns out like
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I really liked this
it's not the usual over-the-top grandiose sort of stuff that he usually puts out, though I'm fully expecting this album to have plenty of that lmao
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"the same midpaced hard rock anthem with Anneke van Giersbergen he's been doing since 2009."
Oh god, that's my fear. I'm so, so, so over that sound and her voice, as nice as it is.
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Elton John aged really well.
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Fun easy going track. I like the change of pace.
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Interesting choice of song to open the album with. Suggests it'll be more laid back which is a direction I'm fine with.
I also like that he's integrated some of the noise collage stuff from Puzzle into this. It's growing on me.
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Yeah I think it's the more laidback approach that is doing it for me. It works with his modern production style, whereas I don't think the more grandiose material particularly does, Stormbending aside. This just sounds more natural and not like he is trying to recapture the melodrama (in a good way) of his early material, which I don't think is possible now
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very interesting blurb from Devy, seems like the album will be more varied than anything he's done thus far
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Not too shabby. It's kinda quirky but still catchy. I'll definitely check it out!
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Dude can do no wrong
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"Elton John aged really well." lol
Nice track, curious to hear the rest.
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I don't think I've truly loved a Devin album since Addicted. I've been finding it harder to enjoy a lot of his newer stuff.
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casualties of cool is great but yeah agreed
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Same Davey, it feels like that was a peak in him making his lighter music that was still succinct and focused and catchy as hell. Since then I've found his output to be a bit erratic for my tastes in terms of quality and even a bit redundant.
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lmao bloc
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Always love me some Devy. Definitely a change of pace but I can dig. Excited to hear what the whole album has in store.
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twinkly dev is good yea 123
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stop it
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NO
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Empath was a fucking masterpiece so I’ll check this out. Everything this dude puts out is at least worth hearing.
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HevyDevy GrooveeMuuvie
love the surrounding atmospheric tension of the Billy Idol "Eyes w/o a Face" vibe
being that this album was originally slated to be released in March - I had the feeling Lightwork would have to wait for 2023 to hit our selectively ungrateful, bastard ears
a lot of ppl associate MikeY P. from FNM as far as comparatively prolific bodies of work - y'know, both phenomenal savants to a degree that elicits some form of feels or reaction with most of their material - and the huge vocal ranges and willingness to embrace diversity - even to the brink of utter absurdity - makes these guys an admirable presence in experimental-related music for decades now (Patton's a bit older n now finally lookin it - still looks like an eccentric badassery icon)
I am always excited for Dev's releases. I expect a nice mix of the expected and a few surprises/twists... and it wouldn't even have to have that to be a must-hear (not necessarily must-like - but never a vapid frustration-fest/total waste of time)
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Definitely need more listens, I didn't dislike this track but unsure where it sits with me.
I was worried from his description this album might just be another Epicloud but I'm glad that the melodies and sounds are more in line with Empath.
I'll be picking this one up regardless as I do with all his mainline releases. Appreciate puzzle and snuggles but his noise experiment releases aren't really thing.
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Not a single person gives a damn what you think of the song. This is obviously something new for Devin to try, let him experiment.
Also going to point out that this isn't his project work, this is just his solo stuff. So if you're expecting heavy, you're in the wrong corner.
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I don't think anyone is complaining that this isn't heavy, dude.
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I like some of the sounds im hearing in this song
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im liking all of them
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Yeah Steavis but comments sections on a music website on articles about new music is where a lot of people go to express their feelings towards new music so deal with it.
Have listened to the song a few times.more now. Keen for the album, sounds like potentially a more stripped back/chilled out take on the Empath material. Still has the interesting melodies and song structures I come to any Devy album for.
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Boring af yea
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I don't really like his "300 layers and not a single one hits hard at all"-production approach, so a stripped back approach is welcome in my books
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This felt like Casualties of Cool mixed with a very mellow version of March of the Poozers.
"im liking all of them" [2]
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Lol we’re nearly 15 years on from Devin Townsend Project and 25 from Ocean Machine and we still have people saying not to expect heavy music from Devin like that’s a big insight 🤣
Especially on here where Ocean Machine, Terria and Casualties of Cool are probably his highest rated output and almost universally loved
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Great buildup and conclusion. Looking forward to the album.
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sounds like something that will grow on me
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Okay after a few days of listening this is my favourite Devin single since Stormbending
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never listened to this guy but this is dorky as hell lol
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check out Ki
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jfc deluxe edition once again is a double album
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Hm. I tuned out for the last few projects since CoC.
This isn't bad. I also feel like a jam sesh with some extra nature-y layers would naturally go on something like this 15 years ago. It works, though. Don't know if it's 2.5 or 4 yet...
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