Devastations Coal

At times, music critics rely overly on comparisons, whether they be accurate or not. So-and-so sounds like the Shins/Arcade Fire/Neutral Milk Hotel and so on, ad infinitum. At other times, they make a conscious effort to avoid them, and resort to pseudo-intellectual, consciousness-probing psychobabble to fill the void, when what they really want to do is make a comparison to another band. Then there are the times when to not mention a certain influence is like staring at a face with a humungous zit - the avoidance itself is so pronounced that it makes its presence felt regardless.

So it would be to talk about Devastations and not mention Nick Cave. Let's get this straight first off: Coal is an excellent record, and this is going to be a positive review, but I need to get this out of the way. Because large segments of Coal would not sound remotely out of place on any Nick Cave album, from about 1989 to the present. Conrad Standish's resonant baritone is certainly reminiscent of Cave's ghoulish croon, and the pair even have matching tall foreheads. When you begin a record with a song entitled Sex & Mayhem, you're immediately identifying yourself with a thematic style, and introducing the martial drumming and the sharp guitar blasts in dynamic contrast to the sultry, dangerous ballads of other songs is lining yourself up musically. Nick Cave is a major influence.

Right. That's out of the way. Coal, as I said, is a great album. Standish's atmospheric vocals ride high over the whole record, adding a tenor also redolent of Tindersticks' Stuart Staples with its warm, rich, powerful thrust. It never rises to a shout, but is menacing and just that little bit frightening all the same, the restraint worrying in the same way that it's always the quiet ones that you have to watch out for...

The backing is what I'd call proper music. As mentioned, there are times when guitars blare and blaze and the apocalypse threatens to begin, but for the most time Tom Carlyon and Hugo Cran provide a dramatic, beautiful backdrop to Standish's troubadour spirit. What it leaves you with is a deeply pretty, yet never comfortable album and while if you don't own Nick Cave's The Boatman's Call, you should get that first (actually, that applies to most albums), you should seriously consider listening to Coal if you're at all weary of angular post-punk or lo-fi chancers. Indeed, if you're weary at all, Devastations are distinctly wonderful companions with which to spend three quarters of an hour.