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Harp Magazine - "Waves"
 "Coldplay may sell in the multimillions, and Doves may get the adoring press, but let's not forget that the Devlins were working the same stylistic ground much earlier. Now four records into their career, these Irish brothers have always excelled at making atmospheric guitar pop that's both sensitive and full-bodied. Sure, they've got a pronounced U2 fetish, but really, who doesn't in this particular subgenre? 'Waves' is another solid outing for the boys, getting off to a powerful start with the heavy, rain-cloud groove of "Everything Comes Around" and coming to life again with the tasty jangle-folk choruses of "Someday" and "Don't Let it Break Your Heart." The playing is impeccable, the production sumptuous. And yet there's something missing here, some barely definable measure of passion or inspiration that sets the true greats apart from the very-goods. Without it, the Devlins seem destined to remain sadly undersung."
- Mac Randall
SoundTheSirens.com - "Waves"
The first thing you should know about the Devlins is that they are named after the two brothers that lead the group. The second thing you should know is that the Devlins have been quite misleadingly compared to U2. Certainly there is a bit of jangle in the guitar lines, and a bit of a dreamy quality to the vocals, but that is true of so many bands past and present that declaring U2 the official forbears of that aesthetic is unfair. What about the Byrds? They were a horribly important band that seemed to have their heads (and guitars) in the clouds. I suppose the fact that both bands hail from Ireland may also be responsible for the haste of some to lump the two together. The primary difference for me, all musical variations aside, is that the Devlins sound like they still have a soul- and lacks the formulaic drudgery. (No offence meant to current fans of U2)
The band hits a great stride on songs like "Careless Love," which may smack a bit too much of saccharine for more jaded listeners, but still functions as a simple, but beautiful pop song. Throughout the guitars jangle and chime with a simple melody. "I'm everything that you made me, so now I'm nothing at all," Colin Devlin sings on "Someday," responding to pigeonholing before it even begins. Trying to cram this, or any other, band into a conveniently labeled slot is giving them short shrift.
It is true that the Devlins are quite tuneful in their way, sometimes the music lacks something to make it really distinguishable. The songs become a mishmash of reverb and mid-tempo drum beats, which frustrates me, because the creative spark is obviously there. But perhaps I am being too particular. The hell with it, I am reviewing this album, it is my job to be particular. The Devlins are catchy, and talented, but they sometimes sound like a one-trick pony (perhaps another area where they could be compared to U2… and don’t even pull that Achtung Baby crap on me, you know it’s just Joshua Tree with a drum machine).
Now that I’ve thoroughly pissed off U2 fans, I shall return to the album at hand. Waves is a perfectly fine album of silvery, beautiful, if slightly repetitive pop. It is not rare or groundbreaking, but dang it, it’s enjoyable, and my personal apologies to the Devlin brothers for using their album as an excuse to unleash my frustrations on U2.
Reviewed by
Cody Shaffer
February 18th, 2005
Splendid Magazine - "Waves"
In an age of post-punk, garage rock, lo-fi and emo, it's always refreshing to hear artists write and perform without pretension, unwilling to pigeonhole themselves into the latest fad or buzz genre. The Devlins do just that. Waves is a study in the ups and downs of life and love that redeems the sea's capricious nature by taking comfort in the fact that it's all a part of life's design.
Opener "Everything Comes Around" sets the album's faithful, optimistic tone, but with an edge. Against a dark, spiraling guitar track, Colin Devlin gruffly acknowledges that "Everything comes around / sooner or later." The follow-up, "Sunrise", is buoyant with rejuvenation, reassuring the listener, "It's alright" as driving chords elevate the mood. The cheesiness of the line, "Surf's up baby / Let's begin" can almost be forgiven by virtue of the lack of irony with which it is delivered.
The Devlins' exploration of the heart's foibles exhibit a gentleness on par with the Pernice Brothers (their long lost stateside brethren, perhaps?). "Careless Love" delivers hard-learned lessons like "Nobody has to win or lose / Nobody has to make it last," wreathed in sweet harmonies and sympathetic yet soaring melodies. On "Feel It When You're Gone", the brothers forge an uptempo mea culpa, rich with both regret and catchiness. Their songcraft evokes the best of Travis and the most heartfelt Jayhawks songs.
If Waves has a theme, it's perseverance. The Devlins convey this not only through lyrical context, but through the driving, uplifting quality of their performance. Energetic riffs and major chords can take you pretty far; the closing title track, which allows Colin's vocals to speak for themselves with only sparse electronic beats and flourishes as accompaniment, promises that "You beat these things, ride these waves / Someday soon our luck will change." The bare arrangement accords this message an added degree of closeness and truth, bringing full circle the many references to waves throughout the record. "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" and "Headstrong" also reflect this motif. It doesn't feel like preaching when, on "Headstrong", Colin sings, "All the things that hurt you / Are just a part of living." It feels comforting.
And that's the thing about The Devlins. They're not inspirational because they're trying to be inspirational. They're not compelling because they're trying to compel us. They are just honest, plain and simple, and sometimes that's the most amazing thing you can be.
-- Georgiana Cohen
Las Vegas City Life & Tuscon Weekly - "Waves"
Rhythm & Views
THE DEVLINS
Waves (Nettwerk Records)
I've never really delved much into the Devlin brothers, Colin and Peter, who hail from Ireland and have previously recorded with Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan). But I've enjoyed their quiet yet anthemic pop songs, which have appeared in HBO's Six Feet Under and director Mike Nichols' recent masterpiece, Closer. And now I'm a full-on fan in the wake of the Devlins' new full-length, Waves, 10 songs that wash over the listener like the warm surf of the Gulf of Mexico.
Engineer Danton Supple, credited with giving British bands like the Doves and Coldplay a majestic sheen, is partly the reason why Waves works. Chiming guitars, smoky vocals and thick-as-a-brick drumming are part of the Devlins' sound, but Supple makes them even heftier, more grandiose. Indeed, fans of the aforementioned artists will instantly take to songs like the soaring "Sunshine," the beautiful downer "Careless Love" and the edgy rave-up "Everything Comes Around." But production is only part of the equation. It's the effortless songcraft that Colin Devlin employs here that really makes this album tick. There are plenty of Zen-like truths conveyed. In "Don't Let It Break Your Heart," for instance: "It's just bruises and scars, they heal." And in "Feel It When You're Gone," there's palpable heartbreak and regret: "It hits me when you leave / When I get but don't receive / 'Cause you're moving out of sight / Down a sad street in your life." Indeed, Waves is full of atmosphere, romance, grief and joy, and it's so well-crafted I'm tempted to say the Devlins are superior to Keane, Snow Patrol and all the other U2 imitations out there. Give this surprisingly powerful disc a spin during a late-night desert drive, and tell me I'm wrong.
PopMatters.com - "Waves" January 11 2005
THE DEVLINS
Waves
(Nettwerk)
Rating: 7
US release date: 25 January 2005
UK release date: 24 January 2005
How fitting that U2 has a new album out; their sound is everywhere these days. Atmospheric and chiming instrumentation, driving bass lines, falsetto choruses -- everyone from Coldplay to Snow Patrol to Keane are taking this formula and expanding its applications. It's a winning formula, to be sure, and a million other bands could employ the same sound without wearing it out. Long before this latest round of "innovative" artists, however, the Devlins -- who also happen to be from Dublin, Ireland -- were taking the pop song format to ethereal and epic heights. With Waves, their fourth album, the Devlins build upon their reputation as one of rock's most reliably solid underground groups.
For those unfamiliar with the Devlins, they've toiled in relative obscurity (in the States, that is) since releasing their first album in 1993. Consisting of brothers Colin and Peter Devlin, they've steadily built a loyal following in the UK, particularly on the Emerald Isle. According to the band's website, Waves recently debuted in the top twenty on the Irish charts. Like many underappreciated bands such as Wilco and the Flaming Lips, the Devlins' songs have appeared on numerous soundtracks and in various television projects, including HBO's Six Feet Under and the movie Closer. This is not surprising; their music, as previously mentioned, is evocative of U2's, marked by soaring guitars and airy choruses. Take a drive while listening to Waves, and you'll find yourself cruising around the block a few extra times noting the beauty of your surroundings.
The U2 comparison is convenient at best and outright misleading at worst. Sure, the Devlins like the higher-pitched notes of the guitar, and they enjoy playing an echoed chord repeatedly until it bounces around in your ears; but their sound is nonetheless distinctive. Rather than consciously creating songs that are sonically overwhelming, the Devlins take a different approach: start out with a simple chord progression, add an intricate and catchy melody, then add the ethereal flourishes. "Lazarus," for example, begins with only a sparse drum beat and the occasional strum but climaxes with a spacious melody and swirling guitar. On "Sunrise," a dancing guitar melody weaves in and out of Colin Devlin's vaporous falsetto. The songs sound carefully constructed to make every musical component essential and compelling.
Lyrically, the material is straight-forward and confessional. Unfortunately, some will listen to this album and think the words boring, bland, or banal. This, however, would be an unfair, and simplistic assessment. The Devlins aren't trying to write "Mr. Tambourine Man" here; rather, the lyrics are uncomplicated and immediate, much like the realizations they inspire. In "Careless Love," Colin Devlin muses, "Nobody has to live a lie / Nobody has to take the blame / All I wanted was the truth." As this line reveals, the truth is often so apparent it's only obscured by our own motivations. Likewise, in "Don't Let It Break Your Heart," the chorus provides some uncommon common sense: "Don't let it break your heart / Don't let it tear you apart / It's just bruises and scars…" There's more wisdom in these three lines than the entire self-help section at Barnes and Noble.
Adding to the album's appeal are the production and engineering. For this album, the Devlins brought in mix engineer Danton Supple, who has worked with many acclaimed acts, including Doves, Starsailor, Coldplay, and Morrissey. The result is an album that breathes and envelops the listener, much like a work produced by Daniel Lanois. Though the songs contain numerous layers of instrumentation, they do not suffocate under their own tiers. Instead, the sounds float upon and within each other. This open, buoyant production underscores the subtle revelations of the lyrics.
Waves is a wonderfully crafted album that manages to sound both understated and sublime, which is indeed an accomplishment. Each listen reveals new textures, hidden subtleties, and quaint hooks. Somehow the Devlins have created a work that reveals its beauty in minute increments, each new discovery hinting at the next. The songs here sound like those moments that unexpectedly become transcendent: a drive on an autumn Sunday afternoon, the moment everyone is reduced to silence when a beautiful song comes on the bar jukebox, falling headlong into a book… This is, quite simply, gorgeous stuff, the product of love, labor, and talent.
— 11 January 2005
PopJournalism - "Waves" February 3 2005
When you hear the latest album from Dublin-born brothers Colin and Peter Devlin, you can't help but think of U2. The Devlins do share similar qualities with that super group — earnest vocalist and the use of echoey guitar riffs — but unlike the U2-lite sounds of Coldplay, Travis, Starsailor, et al., the Devlins legitimately stand out as originals. Waves is their long-awaited return and they get better and better with each effort — since they take around five years between releases, though, this should be expected. Waves begins with the lush and driving "Everything Comes Around," which sounds much grittier than their previous work and has the lyrics to match ("And the touch of her skin / Like a needle going in / Like another secret I can't hide"). Still, the Devlins don’t stray too far from their core alt rock sound thanks to wise self-production and smart mixing from engineer Danton Supple. By the way, the standout track, "Feel It When You're Gone" is a perfect summer driving song. If there's any justice, you'll be hearing it on the radio when the weather starts to warm up. (Nettwerk)
The Devlins, Waves
REVIEWED BY ROBERT BALLANTYNE,
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 3, 2005
alibi.com - "Waves"
The Devlins Waves
(Nettwerk)
While Bono and The Edge have the market cornered in terms of their status as the Darlings from Dublin, brothers Colin and Peter Devlin have been working on the fringe, making a string of pearly pop gems since 1992 to little stateside notice. Working in the shadow of a band like U2 can't be much glamorous fun, but The Devlins have pressed on in relative obscurity even so, with records that contain plenty of nods to their Irish rock forefathers, but also a sense of urgency that's born of pure commitment to one's craft. Waves is the latest, greatest example.
Waves - January 2005
(Nettwerk Records)
Release Date: January 25, 2005
www.thedevlins.com
When you're from Ireland, and dealing in alternative rock sounds, there's always going to be inevitable comparisons to U2. The brothers Colin and Peter Devlin have been dealing with that type of expectation for years. While their previous three releases have been respectable, none has caused a clamour on par with Bono and company. Yet as U2 has returned with a highly touted album (and a flurry of marketing that trumps the music), The Devlins now follow suit with their best release yet. If there was justice in the musical world, The Devlins would be afforded the same coverage as their globe-trotting compatriots. Yet, The Devlins will have no single featured on any Ipod commercials. They've got to hope this music, their most immediate and accessible effort yet, finds its own way to a receptive public.
With Waves, the brothers set out to treat the studio more as though it were a live show. With engineer Danton Supple at the helm (The Doves, Coldplay, Starsailor), there was a better dynamic - an ability to make things sound epic and a greater chance to capture the energy and swirling moods behind the songs. The results are great - upbeat and surprising. Singer/guitarist Colin Devlin and bassist brother Peter Devlin are in rare form, and Guy Rickarby's drumming brings additional power to the tracks. While always known for their ability to create compelling musical gems, there's new oomph behind The Devlins' ten songs on Waves.
The CD opens with dark, swirling guitar loops and feedback that herald "Everything Comes Around." This is a brooding piece of infectious rock, suggesting an inevitability beyond the fact that life goes on and on: "In the crystal night I knew my tears were inside you / I could see it in your eyes / In the space between the words I thought that I had heard / Something I could recognize / And the touch of her skin / like a needle going in /
Like another secret I can't hide / The voice of experience, the times that make no sense / Something I could recognize / Oh, but everything comes around, everything comes around, everything comes around / sooner or later."
The album's first single is the uptempo, bass-driven "Sunrise," which should appeal to those who are fans of the Pernice Brothers. It's catchy and reflective, in all the ways that Joe Pernice does so well. The lyrics, however, are much darker, suggesting suicidal notions for the sake of love amidst summer fun: "Won't you let me stay / Underneath the waves / It's the bright new face / and forever is a life thrown away / It's alright."
The simple strains of guitar that open "Careless Love" reflect the simple disappointments discussed in the lyrics. Here is a man who, in his search for truth, got something else: "Nothing hurts more than a heart that's ready to break / When you've given all you've got and you've taken as much as you can take / Nobody had to win or lose / nobody had to make it last / All I wanted, all I wanted was the truth, not a careless love. "
The Devlins have a way with rhythm here that only adds to the overall melodic appeal of these songs. "Someday" has lots of subtle nuances that win you over in a song that mixes reflection with advice, reminding another that "someday you'll find your place in time" while espousing such thoughts as "you've got to be strong, forget and move on."
There's more quiet philosophy at work in the song "Lazarus." The drums beat beneath the song, haunting and yet reassuring as heartbeat, as we are told to make the best of the time we have here, to turn things around, make a new start, and "live the life you want / 'cause you won't make a sound / when you are in the ground / and Lazarus is still walking."
Another strong song here (and they all seem very solid) is "Don't Let It Break Your Heart." This is a message of consolation, of understanding another's plight in love and ultimately, of hope and reassurance: "Don't let it break your heart / Don't let it tear you apart / 'cause bruises and scars ain't good / Some of these guys they want to paint a target on your head / Love you all up, then leave you dying, left for dead / But then somebody will play the right song and you'll dance again."
Colin Devlin has a very expressive voice that can veer into falsetto range when necessary. That's the case in "Feel It When You're Gone," where the vocal delivery does indeed convince the listener of the pain of a relationship lost, admitting he was wrong: "It hits me when you leave, when I get but don't receive."
Perhaps my favourite song here is the wonderful "Coming Alive," where a funky feel, soft organ accompaniment and a guest female vocal enhance the overall atmosphere. This is a song arising from torpor, of lust and hot desire unleashed and burning in the night: "In time, we'll be replaced, you and I / so pick it up, move over here, I want you now / In the moment, forever yours, forever mine, / The day is over, I feel myself come alive." The idea of lust as life is well-served here.
In "Headstrong" a woman is chided and admired all at once for her wilful attitude : "See the lovers fight in the street at night / see the traffic march in the evening light / Did he break your heart so it could no fix / did he phase you out, lose you in the mix?" He admits he wants to shake her all night, and remind her that "all the thing that hurt, you know, they're just a part of living."
A tribal drum serves as the driving backbone of the title song. "Waves" is yet another song with optimistic sentiments, remaining hopeful even amid hard work and tough lives and providing a poignant closer to this very strong collection: "I take you out, I dance with you / And fade to black from neon blue / Somewhere in the dead of night / Our memories remain in light. / You beat these things, you ride these waves / And someday soon our luck will change."
With this very strong collection of new music, one can only hope that The Devlins' luck will change. Waves comes forth with a new urgency and power that gives their music a wider scope, one that better matches the sweeping poetic reflections of the lyrics, and one that will be well served by touring this music in live performance in support of the disc.
While some of the music here is accessible, all of it gets rewarded with repeated listening. One thing I really enjoy about Waves is that it's not only good pop/rock music, it's meaningful. The basic gist of all this music is that life is a finite experience, that we should do what we want, enjoy ourselves and live and love the best we can in these fleeting moments. The Devlins (along with Danton Supple) have created a fine album, full of melodic rock that weds a sound that's halfway between U2 and the Pernice Brothers, and does so with messages of import that arrive in a clever yet unassuming manner. Waves deserves to make big waves - here's hoping it will.
Waves - reviews
"The haunting, under-stated songs The Devlins are so proficient at writing are coming to them easier than ever. High-tempo, uplifting, moody and epic, 'Waves' looks set to cement their reputation as an Irish band with more longevity, creativity, and credibilty than most". - THE EXAMINER
"Recorded by Doves and Coldplay collaborator Danton Supple, the end result is often mesmerising. 'Sunrise', the album's lead single, is the perfect summer song. 'Waves' is the record to launch them into the big league!". - HOT PRESS
"Highly melodic, finely crafted songs that tug on the heartstrings......The best album of their career!". - THE INDEPENDENT
"Crunchier than toast! The Devlins new album goes for a tougher sound with a little more swagger. How well it suits them". - THE IRISH TIMES
"Their fourth and most fabulous album. An irresistibly attractive disc complete with radio rock belters and sing-along anthems" - IN DUBLIN
Werkshop - 2001
 Recorded in an old country house in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland, where they created their own home studio overlooking the sea, the songs on the Devlins newest album, Consent, illustrate that their solid arrangements continue to convey the honest, uncompromising and unadorned soul of their songs. Whether the music is locked into the sounds of a tight bass, guitar and drum rhythm, or gently strummed to a simple beat box loop, the Devlins continue to tell their stories with such a compelling and life-affirming intimacy that all you'll want to do once you hear the album is listen to it again.
 The Gazzette, OT.
The Devlins
Waiting
EMI
It has been a long four years since The Devlins released their debut Drift and those waiting for an encore will soon be rewarded mid-October with this sophomore effort.
The album, appropriately titled Waiting, is a change of pace from the band's louder debut. It is a slo-fi, acoustic flow of flat rhythms and monotonous vocals, melancholic to the point of tears but it would be inaccurate to say without talent.
The title track is the best on the album and epitomizes the message The Devlins are trying to get across with lines like "if you ever change your mind, you know I'm not hard to find," basically saying the band has been dumped or dumped-on too many times. But therein lies the rub. This particular brand of droning acoustic riffs and emotional outpouring strikes a certain chord that the listener can understand and relate to. The group scratches on the surface of the frail emotions that bind us all as humans. In Heaven's Wall they have succeeded in straining the band's emotional cargo into a dark, vocally-distorted groove that seems to rest at that last minute of night before the first signs of dawn awaken.
In "World Outside and Surrender," the classical piano is the vehicle for The Devlin's outpouring of feeling which at times seems like a search for something better than the two-dimensional people and relationships they are very familiar with.
Apart from the aforementioned songs and the sad, but (for The Devlins) relatively fun "Disappear," the rest of the album is a drag. We have all experienced these loved and lost emotions but the album fails to do anything really new and occasionally comes off limp. The songs suggest bitterness before sympathy and the music, repetition before creation.
What saves this album, besides the emotional insight, is that ultimately it is quite catchy, the songs are simple and lyrics clear. So, if you are hungry for something slow, sad and acoustic than wait no more. The Devlins are your recipe.
–Mark Lewandowski
Drift - All Music Guide
 The Devlins showcase their smooth Irish brogue on their debut album Drift, and without the heavy guitars and lyrical imagery made famous by their Irish counterparts (U2, the Cranberries). Taking note from their influences such as Talk Talk and the Blue Nile, Peter and Colin Devlin go for a grainy simplicity similar to Mike Scott and the Waterboys. The result is earthy in composition, and nothing outstanding in the sense of perfecting an anthem or epic song. Album opener "I Knew That" is a decent introduction for Drift; echoing guitars and breezy acoustics set the album's overall tone and emotional outlooks. "Everytime You Go" and "Almost Made You Smile" are hauntingly similar to the earnest vocals of Daniel Lanois, but what's most inviting about the Devlins is how they keep it basic. No major production or standout singles are found; hushing vocals carry the entire 11-song set list and make Drift an ethereal beauty.
~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
Waiting - Amazon.com
Irish duo The Devlins draw their fondness for melody and various harmonies from their European decedents (Nick Drake, The Replacements, etc.), but they appear equally fascinated with the guitar-fronted power of good old American rock n roll. You can almost picture their suburban garage studio with posters of Springsteen plastered all around. On their sophomore release, Waiting , The Devlins get a little more comfortable with their split personality. Their real strength resides in the vocal chords of Colin Devlin, who can make even the band's edgiest songs feel like summertime ballads, as he does on the gentle title track and "Surrender." While Waiting can't claim extraordinary range or virtuosity, it makes up for it in promise and raw pleasure.
--Nick Heil
Yale Herald.com - Waiting
If you thought the only worthwhile things to come out of Ireland were green beer, leprechauns, and dirty limericks, you're in for quite a surprise.
The Dublin-based band, the Devlins, has just released their second album on Universal Records, and unlike Noel and Liam Gallagher, who seem to be incapable of producing an album more interesting than their offstage antics, this pair of U.K. siblings has put out a 10-track gem. The Devlins' "Waiting" is an exquisitely precise, intricate arrangement of artful melody, driving beat, and emotive lyrics. It achieves a crisp, cool sound and a feeling that is at times unendurably painful, and at others strangely optimistic. "World Outside," the first track, starts off with an odd feedback effect and a few chords of classical piano that one might almost expect to find on an easy-listening station, and then falls into the deep, pounding-yet-not-overpowering bass and sultry, pleading vocals that carry the song to its climax. Complete with the cut-me-with-a-knife tension that hangs in the empty spaces between verses and catches occasional touches of the unconventional opening sounds, "World Outside" sets the tone for an album in which each track connects with the others, building on the ones that come before and contributing to those that follow.
It is the connections between people, the confusing and often difficult nature of human relationships, that drive the stories behind the songs on "Waiting." They are echoed in the elaborate connections between instrumentals and vocals, tune and rhythm, sound and pause. They are also recalled in the relationship between Devlin and Devlin, as one of the brothers responds to a comment made or a theme brought up by the other in a style that never becomes overly self-pitying or melodramatic.
In "Years Could Go By," when Colin Devlin (lead vocals/guitar) laments his lost love, sighing "and I feel no surprise when you tell me now you have to go away," the cello chorus seems to have heard his despondent crooning, calling back in knowing sympathy. In the title track, the painful silent pauses that follow lines like "waiting in the right shoes, waiting in a fast car" and "waiting in slow motion, coming through the turnstiles," force the listener into the same position as the song's protagonist: waiting, impatiently and hungrily, for the next line, next note. And in "Kill With Me Tonight," Peter Devlin's (bass/back-up vocals/guitar) minor key back-up vocals actualize the eerie and weighty tone at which the instrumental intro and cryptic lyrics barely hint.
The precision of the Devlins' "Waiting," rather than leaving the record stilted and contrived, sets up an atmosphere of geometric complexity and a sound that is distilled to its purest essence. The brothers had a bit of help with the polishing of the record from producer Pierre Marchand (producer of Sarah McLachlan and Blue Rodeo) and mixer Tom Lord-Alge (mixer of Black Grape, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and that British brother act, among others). "Waiting" is the barest essence of The Devlins' sound; everything unnecessary is stripped away and what is left is more than worth a listen. (Universal Records)
by Meredith Gordon
DRIFT
This, The Devlins' major label debut (they did have an earlier EP entitled Live Bait, Dead Bait), was released in mid-93, but kind of hibernated for many months. 1994 has been a year where more and more folks are taking notice (including myself). Extensively touring with popular acts such as Frente and Sara McLachlan has also widened the public's awareness of the Irish band. Led by Colin and Peter Devlin, there are certain passages of music that are reminiscent of U2 (the mellow "I Don't Want To Be Like This," for one), but then "Alone In The Dark" reminds me of Gabriel, and other tracks have a bit of James and Van Morrison personalities.
Right on target rhythms, soft textures of keyboards and guitars, and Colin's endearing, expressive voice categorize the Devlins' appeal. My favorite is the quite percussive and soft guitar laden "As Far As You Can Go." Lisa Germano sings backup vocals on that one, and the chorus has a dreamy, soul cleansing appeal:
If you really feel you need to work it out,
well hey;
Take a train ride up through the mountainside;
And let it all fade away.
Frente, The Devlins
Theater of Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
July 25, 1994
Review by Alan Sheckter
Australia's delightfully friendly Frente headlined this quite palatable bill at the TLA. I was told by several folks, however, to be sure and catch the openers, The Devlins. So I did.
These four fellows from Dublin, Ireland, who in early 1994 did an extensive tour opening for Sara Mclachlan, did a fine job here, playing an eight song, 40 minute moody and melodic set of tunes from their current CD, Drift (see CD reviews). Their arrangements are fairly simple yet direct and satisfying with nice layers of jamming that complement honest lyrics. Left-handed Colin and right-handed Peter Devlin and company, whose sound can broadly be described as pop (with plenty of room for entrancing acoustic and soft electric jamming), performed ballads like "I Don't Want To Be Like This" and their single, "Someone To Talk To." More upbeat songs, such as first single "I Knew That" and "Everytime You Go" bopped along nicely. The Devlins seem 'on the bubble,' poised for great popularity in the near future. Colin and Peter are already very popular with some of the younger fans, evidenced by unusually high-pitched squeals and ovations by some of the teenage girls.
Devlin's set: Alone In The Dark / Almost Made You Smile / Everytime You Go / I Don't Want To Be Like This / Someone To Talk To / Necessary Evil / I Knew That / Drift (thanks to The Devlin's soundman for the list)
Devlins Blend Folk and Pop
The Devlins, the Irish trio with an intriguing blend of electric folk and edgy pop, perfectly complement pop diva Paula Cole when they open for her at Le Moyne Manor Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Previously a Capitol recording act, the threesome recently released the 10-song CD Waiting on the Universal label. Tunes include "World Outside," "Big Decision" and "Reckless." Their live show will likely also feature previous alternative and AOR radio hits such as "I Knew That" and "Someone to Talk To."
The trio, which features guitarist/singer Colin Devlin, bassist/keyboardist Peter Devlin and drummer Sean Devitt, believes its mix of strength and sensitivity derives from within.
"The whole thing," Colin Devlin explains, "is really based on getting something of your soul into the music. Something that's really real." Elder sibling Peter agrees. "It's about an emotion more than anything else," he adds.
- Russ Tarby |
