Devil's Brigade - Devil's Brigade
Rating
RIYL
RancidTiger Army
Johnny Cash
Release Date
08/31/2010
Label
HellcatTracklist
1. I'm Movin Through2. My Own Man Now
3. Shakedown
4. Bridge of Gold (featuring Lars Frederiksen & Tim Armstrong)
5. Darlene
6. Ride Harley Ride
7. Who's Gonna Save You Now
8. Desperate Times
9. Vampire Girl
10. Gentleman of the Road (featuring Tim Armstrong)
11. Protest Song
12. Half Way To Hell
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I find it hard to speak ill of Rancid. They’re one of the most respected bands in punk, but musically they are kind of a one-trick pony. While side projects are normally a great way for band members to branch out and prove themselves in other arenas, Rancid side projects like The Transplants have been forgettable. This doesn’t bode well for bassist extraordinaire Matt Freeman. While his bass work has always been a highlight of Rancid’s tenure, the members of the band have never proven themselves outside of their main breadwinner. How will his self-titled punk-n-roll debut under the moniker Devil’s Brigade fare?
Other than a few new tricks here and there, like the inclusion of a rumbling double bass and the uber-gruff Motorhead-esque vocals of Matt Freeman, the first two songs aren’t really that far off from typical Rancid. They’re good, primal, basic punk ragers, but aren’t anything worth paying that much attention to. However, beginning at track three we are presented with an awesome mix of punk, rockabilly, surf, early rock ‘n roll and outlaw country. “Shakedown” kicks off with a bouncing double bass and an authentic sounding heavily reverbed guitar lead playing a typical early rock and roll chord progression into a simple, catchy shout-along. Sure, the style and techniques are getting to be almost 70 years old, but it is a classic for a reason and sounds as fresh as when it was first played. Some other songs on this album take the formula for “Shakedown” and punk it up, giving it a definite psychobilly edge. “Darlene” features a raging double bass solo and another chorus that begs to be screamed along with. Twin tracks “Who’s Gonna Save You Now” and “Desperate Times” are two classic psychobilly rave-ups that come out swinging and feature some impressive twangy, surf-inspired guitar solos. The band’s tribute to girls that won’t leave you alone, “Vampire Girl”, is impressive because of its attention to texture, which involves the subtle layering of distorted, clean and acoustic guitars to great effect.
When we heard that a member of Rancid will be starting an early rock and roll influenced side-project, we knew to expect some raucous psychobilly, like the songs mentioned above. But what is most surprising is that the other half of the album shows that Matt Freeman has some serious songwriting chops when he branches out and experiments with new genres. “Bridge of Gold”, which features guest vocals from Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen is an almost showtune sounding folk song about going out west to build the Golden Gate Bridge, a nod to this album’s early intents to be a concept album. Beginning with some picking mandolins, the song adds in some ragtime influenced piano to sound as old-timey as possible. By the time it gets to the chorus, it sounds like a ragtag group of drunken, down-on-their-luck prospectors who truly believe they can make a life for themselves out west. This song is so good and unique that it becomes a major disappointment that Freeman didn’t go all the way and write a fun Andrew Dost style musical.
“Ride Harley Ride” and “Gentlemen of the Road” are classic examples of the rock and roll traveling song. Noticeably slower and more atmospheric, these songs take a more low-key approach. Both songs utilize dreamy, peaking guitars that sound like they came out of some ghastly 50-year-old amplifier. Showing an affinity for layering of old sounds, both songs play it cool where the rest of the album ratchets everything up to 11. It’s great to hear such a variety of songs where it’s honestly expected that most of them will sound the same.
I’ll admit that I had relatively low expectations for this album, especially after after Rancid’s other middling side projects, and only previously hearing wild psychobilly from Devil’s Brigade. But Matt Freeman has proven himself to be a talented and varied songwriter, and we could only be so lucky for Devil’s Brigade to be around as long as Rancid.
--Stephen Harris
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