Devon Williams
(Ba Da Bing)
Carefree, Devon Williams’ debut, seems the result of a lot of study time with a good record collection dominated by a few late sixties string-soaked West Coast gems and a lot of early- to mid-eighties indie pop imports. “Stephanie City” could be a lost Go-Betweens track; “Fragile Weapon” has the jangly, liquid sound of the Smiths; “One And One” strums along frenetically like a shot of Orange Juice.
The material’s far removed from the sneers of his teen punk band, Osker. Although he’s helped by a bass player and drummer Carefree sounds like an ambitious bedroom project, in part because Williams’ adenoidal voice, with a boyish quality suited to classic power pop, can’t quite measure up to the elaborate leaps in his melodies or to the grand vibrations of the expansive string arrangements (by Lavender Diamond’s Steve Gregoropoulous—Williams did time as LD’s guitarist). Like East River Pipe or Kleenex Girl Wonder, two one-man bands, Williams possesses an easygoing, hooky sense of melody coupled with a hermetic sense of isolation, but his ideas often threaten to outstrip his means.
Standout Tracks: “Stephanie City,” “One And One” STEVE KLINGE
