“She-Devils” – She-Devils LP review
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Montreal psychedelic duo She-Devils releases debut LP. It is a promising first album. The consistently catchy tunes and diverse array of color choices make She-Devils a remarkable addition to the neo-psychedelic music scene.
“I’ve always believed in the idea if you visualize or summon something, it will come true”
Inspiring, Field of Dreams-ish words from lead singer Audrey Ann Boucher of Montreal’s neo-surf rockers, She-Devils. The band’s debut album released Friday, May 19.
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Self-described followers of 60’s yé-yé music, with all its romantic longing in French black-and-white movies, along with Iggy Pop, Madonna, and Can, the self-taught pair began playing gigs together four years ago.
The duo is interested in keeping classic garage music alive. Dreamy melodies, chugging, rhythmic guitar work, and a vast vocabulary of keyboard/guitar effects are omnipresent with “She-Devils.”
This is a promising first LP. The neo-psychedelic scene, stretching back practically to the days of original psychedelic rock, is filled with less catchy hooks and expansive color palettes than She-Devils have packed into 10 songs.
Highlights include “Darling”: a dive into the world of lo-fi, with a riff that imitates the clarity of a cheap portable radio. This is followed by “How Do You Feel,” a chirping garden of delayed organ, swirling and buzzing guitar effects, a maze of reverb topped off with a crooning ballad from Boucher. More than anywhere else on the album, this track puts the spaced-out “yeah…” in “yé-yé.”
“You Don’t Know” picks up the pace of the album, and ventures further into the territory of Kevin Parker’s (Tame Impala) flangered-out guitar style. “Never Let Me Go” has some ingenious nuances, such as the hyper-speed hand claps against a slow, understated tom-tom beat, or Kyle Jukka’s sudden shifts on guitar from flowy acoustic to heavy, whining distortion.
According to their press release, lead singer Boucher’s artwork (including “She-Devils” album cover) is inspired by “hours of Disney movies, the Simpsons, and Powerpuff Girls.”
Closer “Buffalo” echoes like a Fleet Foxes concert in the Grand Canyon. Its simple vocal line, simple drum beat, and minimal guitar strumming amount to a vivid, swirling picture, that leaves off with a question, to all you Sly Stone haters, “why won’t you let me be myself?”
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