Devon Williams remains one of the most underrated artists on Slumberland Records. He's made records that expertly blend New Wave textures with a chamber pop sensibility, and yet I feel like far too people still know about this guy. His new EP, Out of Time, is out today and it's fantastic.
Opener "La La La La II", a new version of a tune from 2011's Euphoria, unfurls over a Mick Karn-style bass-line, the vocals recalling something from O.M.D., maybe, while the absolutely gorgeous and new "Across the Ocean" reminded me a bit of Brian, if you remember him, and even The Pearlfishers. Devon Williams is drawing from a rich tradition, with so much of this owing debts to pioneers of both the Sixties and Eighties. "Out of Time II", a reworking of a track from last year's A Tear in the Fabric, reminded me a tiny bit of The Blue Nile circa Hats (1989), as did the closer "Peace Now II", another updated number from Euphoria (2011).
Even though three of these cuts are reworkings of earlier Williams tunes, the entirety of Out of Time felt new to me. The EP has a bright sheen to it, but a warm one. And a listener sort of sinks into the sounds here, and is reminded that electronic textures can allow an artist the space to make something beautiful and warm. In that sense, Out of Time probably deserves more than my comparisons to New Wave of the past. Buy it for yourself and see what the EP inspires in you.
Out of Time is out today via Slumberland Records.
[Photo: Slumberland Records]