The Deviltones' debut album mines the same proto-punk garage sound as similar recent acts like the Datsuns or the Forty-Fives: noisy guitars, snotty vocals, sullen lyrics, and the idea that these guys probably know every song on the first 20 volumes of the Pebbles anthology by heart. "I gotta gun/I'm on the run" is close to the sum total of the lyrics of the 90-second "I Gotta Gun," set to a hurtling fuzztone riff that sounds like the MC5 jacked on espresso. It's admirable that the Deviltones stay so true to their three-chord ideals, but not only does Riding the High Horse not bring anything new to the retro-punk party -- innovation would be rather missing the point -- the Virginia-based band never does anything particularly interesting with its influences. While the Deviltones are undoubtedly tons of fun to see live, preferably in a dive bar with cheap beer, Riding the High Horse lacks personality.
Riding the High Horse
The Deviltones
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Riding the High Horse Review
by Stewart Mason
Track Listing
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Deviltones | 04:10 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
2 | The Deviltones | 03:35 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
3 | The Deviltones | 02:10 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
4 | The Deviltones | 03:22 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
5 | The Deviltones | 01:30 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
6 | The Deviltones | 02:27 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
7 | The Deviltones | 03:11 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
8 | The Deviltones | 04:06 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
9 | The Deviltones | 02:25 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
10 | The Deviltones | 02:10 | SpotifyAmazon |