Devo
Something for Everybody (Warner Bros.)“What we do is what we do/it’s all the same, there’s nothing new,” sings Devo on “What We Do,” the second track off the quintet’s first LP in two decades. Albums such as 1978’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and 1980’s Freedom of Choice made spudboys and spudgirls of us all, championing the rock & roll nerd. Devo’s music was irony set to a 4/4 beat, acerbic commentaries on modern culture with eye-popping visuals, groundbreaking videos, self-referential songs, and relentlessly catchy beats. Nothing has changed for the onetime Akron, Ohio-based group. With most of the original brain trust intact – brothers Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald and Bob Casale, plus ex-Nine Inch Nails/Guns n’ Roses drummer Josh Freese – Something for Everybody sounds effortlessly fresh. That’s their neat trick, making “Later Is Now,” “No Place Like Home,” and “Knock Boots” feel seamless in the Devo canon. If all they wanted to do was eliminate the ninnies and twits by reminding everyone they were better mutants, they’ve endured admirably.
This article appears in July 2 • 2010.