Review Summary: We are DEVO!!!
Something about the chant in the pre-math-rock of
Jocko Homo feels so demented to me, as do the spoken/shouted vocals of the punk-rocker
Too Much Paranoias, yet it's the very thing that I find the most intriguing about the debut of the new wave quintet
Devo. The never ending stream of sarcasm, quirkiness, so futuristic, yet so obviously from a time long gone, it could so very well end up a bloated mess.
But it doesn't.
Fortunately, Devo aren't being quirky and off-kilter just for the sake of it. The attitude of Devo comes from the philosophy that humans aren't evolving, but instead (D)evolving, stance expanded upon in tracks such as
Mongoloid and
Jocko Homo. The theme goes through most, if not all the songs, even if not mentioned directly - the opener
Uncontrollable Urge with its blisteringly fast introduction, has Mark Mothersbaug yelling lyrics about his desire for sex taking over him, while the futuristic sounding closer orders the listener to
Shrivel Up, because living right is not fun.
These themes are supported excellently by the band's performance, providing fun, yet appropriately twisted instrumentals, whether it's the post punk informed bass groove of
(Can't Get No) Satisfaction by Gerald Casale and the drummer Alan Mayers, or catchy, buzzing guitars in the chorus of
Praying Hands , played by Bob Casale. Occasionally experimenting with different time signatures or incorporating futuristic synthetic sounds, best heard in the coda of
Jocko Homo with its drum like fuzzy beat, or
Space Junk's guitar fading into wave of noisy synth, almost no moment remains going on for too long without some sort of a switch up. Big part of that is owed to the production by
David Bowie and
Brian Eno , even if the way they worked with the band was a cause for some discord. Going off the band performance it'd be a sin not to mention Mark Mothersbaugh's vocals, his theatrics taking the front stage in a similar way those of David Byrne of the Taking Heads with variations of speech-singing, shouting and yelling.
Tunes such as
Gut Feeling,
Come Back Jonee and
Space Junk take the sound of the band to different realms, with the former two being more rock influenced than the rest of the rather punk oriented sound with varying degrees of success(especially the latter being the only weaker song), while the latter taking the rhythmic post punk of the band and leading it into a slightly melancholic, even sad at points, places, being one of the best stand outs. As such, the album stands as
Devo's crowning achievements of heights the band would never quite reach again, and as one of the essential late 70's records that you should check out if you're interested in the era even if just ever so slightly.
