Devics - Push the Heart

Devics
Push the Heart
Filter U.S. Recordings
Grade: A-

If the soundtrack to Charlotte’s Web collided with a French Mazzy Starr, the result would be Devics’ Push the Heart. The latest in an array of surprising releases, Push the Heart will surely re-establish Devics as the masters of electronic mope.

The duo of Devics should be more familiar than you may know or realize. Composed of the magical vocalist Sara Lov and multi-instrumentalist Dustin O’Halloran, Devics started out in the mid-90s in the LA-area. After a couple of releases in the late 1990s, If You Forget Me and The Ghost and the Girl EP, Devics were signed to UK-based Bella Union, the label of ex-Cocteau Twins Simon Raymonde. That shift from the U.S. to the Europe soon began a cascade of both musical and physical re-location, as their 2001 record My Beautiful Sinking Ship became a relative hit in Europe and the duo soon found themselves spending considerable time on the continent. As such, Devics moved to Italy and released The Stars of Saint Andrea in 2003, another European fave. Success in Europe was gleeful, but Lov and O’Halloran wanted a fitting return to their homeland and a way to push through only underground appreciation in the U.S. Back in LA, Devics wrote and recorded Push the Heart, and the results are simply brilliant. Based on the ten-track Push the Heart it would be fitting to call Devics ‘criminally-overlooked.’ The combination of Lov’s vocals and O’Halloran’s piano, guitar, and electronics creates a devastating sonic appeal.

Push the Heart begins with sweeping pianos of O’Halloran and Lov’s vocals on “Lie to Me,” a score that soars on the chorus; and is the source of the Charlotte’s Web comment above. This leads onto the first glimmer of European flavor, as O’Halloran includes a pulsating Parisian according to “Secret Message to You,” a song that simply slides through five calming minutes. “.Salty Seas” is darker as guitars and piano haunts the background, while “Song for a Sleeping Girl” picks up the pace and is the first to include O’Halloran’s vocals. “Song for a Sleeping Girl” is one of the more pop-friendly numbers on Push the Heart and O’Halloran’s vocals clearly reflect a new wave mood that is endearing. The up “Distant Radio” may be a little too perky for Push the Heart and “Just One Breath” really only holds up when Lov pushes her voice. “Moments” returns Devics to electronic moping, and only comes through when O’Halloran adds a slight shooting electronic star; you could slap him for the saxophone inclusion. O’Halloran takes over vocal duties again on the rambling and excellent “If We Cannot See;” another of the more pop accessible songs on the record. After the strange “City Lights,” Push the Heart closes on “Come Up,” a slow piano walk that is rather average in comparison.

As Devics welcome-back record, Push the Heart should find a much wider American audience than in years past. And if it doesn’t, Europe is a much better place to be than the US nowadays.