Detholz! – Cast Out Devils
Detholz!, a Chicago-based band with devo-esque quips, recently released the album Cast Out Devils (self-released, 2006). The band, pronounced “death holes”, features an ecletic mix of alternative rock riffs and new wave synthesizers, often vamped over lyrics filled with criticism pointed at religion and American culture. Detholz! originally came together while its members attended Weaton College, an evangelical Christian school in Illinois. The band was formed as a way for its members to “vent anger and frustration with their evangelical upbringings”. According to their online biography, the band was expelled from Wheaton in 1996. The band acquired a local following Chicago, and in 2005 were picked by Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco, to open for them on their U.S. tour. Since then Detholz! continues to gain a wider fan base, especially with their newest release, Cast Out Devils.
The album opens with an archetypal rant on censorship, a sarcastic song entitled “Silence is Golden.” The song features a repetative figure of guitar, bass and drums which is continued through the entire song, only breaking towards the very end. The lyrics of the song are somewhat vague, but clearly focused on the idea of censorship: “Silence is Golden / Just ask the sexy beast inside / Let others do the talking for you / Be cool / Be secretive / Be quiet.” The song serves as a perfect introduction to Detholz! sound.
Another noteworthy song is the title track, “Cast Out Devils.” This song has a more traditional structure, while still featuring Detholz!’s unique blend of repetative rhythm and almost-spoken-word lyrics. This song most closely relates to the Detholz!’s need to “vent anger and frustration”, as it makes reference to gullible and misguided parents, and the difficulty of following a religion you don’t believe in. This is shown most clearly through the rephrasing of the chorus at the end of the song. “I think I believe / In life worth living / I know that I need / Space to live in” becomes “I think I believe / In the world of Satan / I know that I need / Space to make him.”
The band’s cultural rants are interesting, but the most appealing parts of Cast Out Devils are the rhythms underneath them. Each song contains a propelling rhythm which pushes the listener through the song. However, this doesn’t always work to Detholz!’s benefit. Because of the similarity in structure between most of their songs, they often become somewhat interchangeable. To their credit, they have stuck to a difficult song structure and have done a lot with it. Their sound is extremely polished, and perfect for bopping heads and tapping feet.
Detholz! will be coming to Baltimore on Sunday, February 25th, at the Depot, with the band Bobby Conn. Their music provides the listener with an awesome backdrop to move to, and their spoken-lyrics are perfect for singing out. Anyone going to see the show is definitely in for a great time.
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good to see this cd reviewed. I think you are reading a little too much into silence is golden. My guess is that it is complete nonsense “you enemies wear back pajamas”?
also, cast out devils, in my opinion, is actually an affirmation of faith in a round-a-bout way. If there is a satan, which the singer believes, then must there not be a god?
Having heard the Cast out Devils version of Spectacula and IMA Believer after I heard the “The EP” versions, I’d have to say that it’s still incredible music, but I don’t like the way that the singer’s voice changed. as they appeared on The EP, said songs were nothing short of incredible, as opposed to the Cast Out Devils version, where it seemed as though his voice was “toned down” a bit and kind of sounded like he ate right before recording. This is more noticable with Spectacula than IMA believer, but it’s still there. I think the music itself was improved though.