45 RPM (label)
20 February 2014 (released)
22 February 2014
Little Devils have been building their rep for the last few years and manage the marriage of Blues, punk and rock n roll with great life and verve. I reviewed their debut album in 2012 and it is good to hear that they have developed while keeping the strengths of that album.
A damn good listen.
Lead vocals come courtesy of Yoka, aka ‘The Dutch Diva’ and she also weighs in with sax and flute while Big Ray handles the guitars and newcomer Sarah Leigh Shaw handles drums. The Blues Band/Jools Holland horn player Mick Paice has been guesting with the band for a while and definitely adds to their sound.
One of the immediate pluses of the EP is that there is no one thing that allows you to pigeonhole the band or predict what the music is going to be. They open with ‘The Waiter’, thumping drums, fuzzed guitar and Yoka’s slightly ‘Un-English’ pronunciation and saxes definitely putting this into a kind of Punk/Blues place – think X-Ray Spex crossed with George Thoroughood – and it swings with real punch and a great sense of fun. They follow that up with a moody r&b piece that opens with a flute and a walking cymbal before developing a strong and funky groove. As the set continues you begin to hear the quality in Yoka’s vocals – she really does have a fine voice and when you get over her accent it is extremely pleasant to listen to – especially the little warble or vibrato as she hits the higher notes. The rest of the EP encompasses a very sixties style pop ballad on ‘Hang My Head’, jazzy and sassy raunch on ‘No Love Lost’ and a beautiful slow Blues with organ on ‘Another Pack Of Lies’.
The band are very good on the ear and I imagine that they would be a blast live too. Not your bog-standard Blues and definitely not one for the SRV camp but if you like music that crosses boundaries and is performed with heart and talent then it is well worth a go.
