“Everybody! It’s a good thing!” So begins the latest Devo album, as if to answer any naysayers scoffing the Menudo-ization of the groundbreaking spuds. Yes, it’s Devo karaoke with kids. What did you expect for a Disney Sound release? Surprisingly, it’s not nearly as bad as expected. The lead singer (a girl!) cheerfully delivers the classic anthems in perky, robotic bursts. And the songs themselves sound spunkier than the original band has played them in years. The old new wavers play the backing tracks, and founding father Gerald Casale spearheaded the 2.0 experiment. Some of the more confrontational lyrics have been cleaned up for younger listeners, but the song choice — Jerkin’ Back and Forth, Uncontrollable Urge — is still pretty odd.

The bonus DVD has videos for eight of the 12 tracks. All feature the kids miming along on instruments in front of funny computer animated backdrops, and after one or two you get the point. Also included are interviews with both generations of the band, and a weird scholarly overiew of Devo’s history. Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh answer questions from their replacements, which range from the expected (”how did you meet?” “when did you start playing music?”) to the challenging (”what is de-evolution?”). The guys play nice, offering kid-friendly and oblique explanations for their anti-social art project. Casale proclaims that the band’s original intent was to work hidden away in a sort of sonic laboratory, while hired hands took care of public appearances. They finally get their wish, though I can’t imagine how the Powerpuff generation will take to a crew of squeaky clean teens in energy domes. The youngest of the new crop, 10 year old Jackie, posits that de-evolution was all about “world peace”(!) and hopes to continue in the good fight. It’s a bizarre redefinition of an outsider movement, but Devo was always best at going against expectations.

There are no comments yet. You could be the first!