Like Kraftwerk before them, Devo arrived on the scene as a fully formed, self-contained unit. They had the look, the sound, the style and attitude down cold by the time their Warner Brothers debut Are We Not Men? was released in 1978. They even had a philosophy, which was represented by the name Devo — shorthand for the idea of de-evolution. The theory is that humans have already peaked as a species, and are now regressing, or de-evolving.
Great stuff, and it caught the music world’s attention immediately. The only flaw in the strategy was that the act was a little too perfect. After a few years of groundbreaking music, videos, and costumes (remember the flowerpots?), Devo were seen to be repeating themselves. Warners dropped them, and after floundering on a couple of independent labels, the band called it quits in 1990.
So here we are, 20 years later, and Devo has released one of their finest efforts yet. They are even back on Warner Brothers Records again. Reunion albums are always a hit-or-miss affair. To be honest, it is usually miss. That is not the case with Something For Everybody. This is easily the best they have done since 1982’s Oh No, It’s Devo.
Lead track “Fresh” is classic Devo. You hear elements of their most abandoned moments throughout the song, as well as reminders of fellow Class Of ‘78 alumni such as the Dickies and B-52’s. Any thoughts of this being just a new wave redux record are vanquished on the next track, “What We Do.” The vintage house-music beats sound so 1988, it’s comical. But this is meant as a positive, because someone as cutting-edge as Mark Mothersbaugh knows exactly what he is doing, so the wink to late-eighties Wax Trax! is clearly intentional.
“Don’t Shoot (I’m A Man)” is an instant classic, one of those insanely hook-filled tunes that you just cannot get out of your head. “Mind Games” is another, with the added fun of being filled with antiquated 8-bit videogame sounds.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Glad to hear it's a strong album. They delivered a strong performance at Coachella
2 - Greg Barbrick
I wish I would have seen them. Hoping they come to Seattle.