Single Review: Devilin Me – Self Titled EP

Devilin Me is an EP of basic songs made with basic sounds that cover the human experiences of love, life and loss, the project revolves around the frontman Stephen Brunton, the former vocalist from hardcore punk bands Gout and Lager Louts, who with Jesus Hooligan leads a loose collective that deliver a percussive noise that is born from his punk roots but delivered using anything to comes to hand, or anything that takes their fancy, to deliver a euphoric and intense live experience.

Whatever you were expecting from a band called Devilin Me it certainly won’t have been this, the eponymous title track carries a blues feel with a raw vocal that is accompanied without any amplified instruments, just a stamped percussion, whilst Ain’t Got Time For This carries the punk spirit but stripped right down to a muted beat and a vocal that is reminiscent of Crass. Righteous Stick revisits the title track’s style with a dirty blues attitude whilst Linns Song heads off into experimental territory that reminds me of the Edgar Broughton Band, finally I Smell Me In You closes the EP with a solo vocal that resembles a drunken sea shanty.

Devilin Me is unlike anything else I’ve heard this year, it’s a cross between blues, roots folk and punk that is stripped right down to the bone and shorn of any amplication. The title track from Devilin Me‘s eponymous EP is the closest thing you’ll get to a single, and believe me even this track is not even close, as this is an experimental EP that certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but importantly this is original, experimental and inclusive. Jesus Hooligan boast a fluid line up that can include up to forty members and Devilin Me is a logical extension of that outfit, and if nothing else it’s really made me want to catch Jesus Hooligan live

The Devilin Me EP can be downloaded here