THE DAILY MOJO by Adam Daniel

One of the best albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to recently is from Sydney band The Devoted Few. It’s called ‘Baby, You’re A Vampire’ and it’s an amazingly varied collection of heartfelt ballads, slinky grooves, balls-out rock songs and poppy singalongs. They worked on the album for almost two years, and it’s paid off; there’s an intimacy and personality to the album that is genuinely affecting. ‘Trigger Fingers’ is the energetic opener, guaranteed to get your feet tapping, but it segues into a crooning chorus that you don’t expect. The album is full of these sudden left turns and diversions during songs, and to the band’s credit they work almost everytime.

‘The Death Of Us’ is an angular, jolting, stream-of-consciousness farewell to a relationship. ‘Don’t Listen To Us’ is sure to be a blistering live song, with its slippery base and insistent chorus. Ballads ‘Tom Said’ and ‘You & Me & Everyone Else We Know’ are beautifully sung, simple yet affecting. ‘We Burn’, apart from being a damn good rock song, is a reminder of how cool a horn line can sound when it’s done well.

The Devoted Few have a dash of Faker, a dollop of Death Cab For Cutie, but ultimately their own diverse and musically literate voice.

You can check out a 4 episode ‘Making Of’ Diary at their official page, or preview the majority of this brilliant album at their Myspace page. I highly recommend you check out ‘The Death Of Us’, ‘We Burn’, and ‘You & Me & Everyone Else We Know’. I’ve also chosen ‘Don’t Listen To Us’ as today’s Song of the Day.