Philadelphia's Milton and the Devils Party today releases their second album, How Wicked We've Become. Produced by Brian McTear, HWWB is heavily influenced by 80s guitar alternative and includes several nods to Morrissey.
"The new record contains several verbal echoes of Morrissey," says singer-songwriter-bassist Daniel Robinson, who is also a Widener University English professor. Robinson cites Morrissey and Ray Davies as his favorite songwriters.
One track, "Too Old To Die," even includes a direct reference to Morrissey--but Robinson warns against interpreting it as autobiography. "I would take a bullet for Morrissey," he says. "But the guy in that song feels like he has to repudiate his youthful romanticism. And it seemed to me that that character wrongly would associate Morrissey with teenage mope-rock."
The All Music Guide says:
Do college professors belong in the realm of rock & roll? Well, singer/songwriter/bassist Daniel Robinson and guitarist Mark Graybill certainly think so, as evidenced by their band, Milton & the Devils Party. Both English professors at Widener University in Pennsylvania, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the duo took their name from literature (a passage from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in case you were wondering). On their 2007 release, How Wicked We've Become, it quickly becomes apparent that the group has a thing for jangle pop, as the guitars ring out clean and lean throughout -- as if it was Peter Buck or Johnny Marr sitting in as session musicians. There's certainly an '80s college rock feel to the entire album, but specifically such tracks as the album opening "Coward of the Conscience," "Have to Have Everything," and "Muse of Mundanity." With alt pop resembling saccharine sweet pabulum circa the early 21st century, a shot of early R.E.M.-esque rock is just what the doctor ordered.
How Wicked We've Become is available nationwide today, Tuesday, August 21. Links to online retailers can be found on the band's myspace page.
Look for Milton and the Devils Party on iTunes!
www.miltondevilsparty.com.
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An anonymous person writes... (Score:0)
HLHWB is also heavily influenced by 80s guitar alternative as well as Kathleen Turner Overdrive and Barry Jive and his Uptown Five.
The lead singer Herman Bartleby wrote the whole album about Morrissey, I'm...I mean he is Mozzer's biggest fan, he even named his first child Julia...Julia Faulkner Steinbeck Bartleby.
Herman, who is a published author and Pulitzer prize winner, is shy about his love of Morrissey. "I adore Morrissey and his fans but it's not like I would shamelessly promote my album by professing that adoration on his biggest website."
The music magazine Obscurity writes:
Does a Pulitzer prize winning author and all around pompous windbag deserve to be in the realm of rock & roll? Herman certainly seems to think so. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Herman likes books, as he has been bludgeoning everyone around him with literary references until their noses bled. Songs from HLHWB like the opening "James Joyce Was The Most Loved" and "December Spawned A Bronte" ooze that pretentious genius that even someone who was writing their own review has to take a step back. Not all of the songs are instant classics, "Charles Dickens On Fire" leaves something to be desired but on the whole this is one of the greatest albums of all time.
How Lame Have We Become is available tristate area wide today, Thursday, August 23rd. Links to directions to the cd stash in my trunk can be found at google maps.
Look for Kerouac and the Dharma Orgy on iTunes!
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