My Device
Nervous System
I’ve tried very hard to like this album, I promise you, but I’m sad to report that I simply don’t. My Device obviously are a young band with talent, and a lot going for them, as their victory in NME’s Walkman Breaking Bands competition (beating off over 6, 000 challengers and drawing plaudits from Alan McGee no less) indicates. It’s just that the music manages to sound both all over the shop and nowhere all at the same time.
‘Dangermeat’ gets lost in squalls of feedback, while ‘I Was Brave Today’ references the Kooks, but with twelve times the balls (twelve balls? What?). Trouble is it all smacks of My Device trying a bit too hard, particularly on ‘Like Fools We Believed Them’ and ‘Holy Cow! I’m Happy Now!’ which is such a ‘scene’ song title it hurts.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s something good in every song here. Todd Jordan’s vocals are strong, Alex ‘Doogie’ Uren’s drums are tight and potent and Russell Eke’s bass parts push all the right buttons. It just doesn’t hang together as a whole piece of work for me.
I so often listen to bands on the way up and think ‘I bet they’re better live than they come across on CD’ and My Device will surely be a case in point.
If you’re a devotee of the band, you’ll probably already have this. If you’re not, you’ll probably find at least a couple of songs here that get you excited. Whether the whole album will do it for you though depends on your taste. I’d advise checking them out live, and I’ll look forward to doing that myself.
Guest article from Haydon S.
My Device Articles
Written by Guest Writers on
