Review Summary: Lydia created an impressive collection of fun,energetic pop songs, but also a very flawed album sadly.
Lydia is an indie rock band which was formed by Leighton Antelman and Steve McGraw. The band's first album "Illuminate" was a great success and was well received. The band went through a period of hiatus where the founding members had some kind of a rift. Although, Lydia went back from this hiatus on September 2011; they lost a crucial part of their band in Steve McGraw. They later, released "Paint it Golden" then the album "Devil".
If this isn't your first time listening to Lydia, you'll notice a quite significant shift in style. While, the album "Illuminate" was mainly characterized as an alternative album; in contrast, "Devil" is mainly a highly energetic pop album. I would like to make clear though that I have no intention at all on building my premise on comparing those two albums. It wouldn't be fair for three distinctive points. The first is the change in style that forces a fresh outlook on the band; hence, I'll be focusing on judging from that outlook. The second point would be that this is an arguably new territory that the band is embarking on even though they've been in the music business for a while. The third one is that they lost a few crucial members after they resumed from hiatus, and so they might still be in the search for a new identity.
A few minutes into the album ,I had a sense of optimism; the songs were pretty enjoyable, and I thought for a second there that they could pull it off. It sounded like a well oiled machine was in the works. Leighton was sounding as good as ever, the choruses sounded well placed specially in the song "Runaway", and the drums were buzzing with energy. Though, as swift as it hit me, the energy disappeared as if they took the dynamo out of this well-oiled machine. The choruses started sounding tedious and misplaced as if they were put there just for the sake of it.
The songs all seemed to be structurally the same except for two useless interludes. It's not often that I criticize a song that has a significant change in style from the rest of an album as I think diversity is important. "Now I know" seems like a mixture of some of the lyrics of the song "Devil" with a "Now I know" loop added into it. I have no idea what's it supposed to add musically or its lyrical purpose."Back to Bed" is the other interlude, utilizing mainly only the acoustic guitar and an ever-energetic chorus. I actually love this song, but I'll have to admit that it ruins what little momentum this album has gathered up to that point.
A positive note would be the lovely minimalist use of the keyboard in the song "Devil". These are the kind of small but important changes that turns a song from a tedious chore to a truly enjoyable experience. I don't mind a band having a consistent structure to their songs if they break a few rules here and there. In conclusion, Lydia created a very good collection of fun,energetic pop songs, but also a very flawed album sadly.
