Handsome Devil
Love and Kisses from the Underground
Dirty Martini/RCA
Handsome Devil is the latest in a long string of bands from Orange County, California, a place that has spawned a lot of hot bands, from Social Distortion to The Offspring, No Doubt, and Lit. As a matter of fact, Handsome Devil was the first band signed to Lit•s own record label, Dirty Martini. No wonder, there is a real resemblance. Handsome Devil is a bit like Lit and The Offspring mixed with The Living End. They also remind me a lot of The Marvelous 3, especially in their irreverence and energy. They are kind of like early Green Day in that they have a firm eye on punk, but have enough hooks to get played on the radio. Maybe they are trying to rescue punk from the popification that Blink 182 has led it to!
This is a collection of songs that are all crying out to be hits! The first single, “Making Money,” has the cutest video – you may mistake it for a commercial, it is a takeoff on so many commercials you•ve seen. Very cool. “It•s funny, I•m making money, just like an Easter Bunny–you make me laugh–HA HA HA” It•s already getting good airplay. Standout tracks include “Sorry Charlie” (a great song about children•s cruelty to other children), “Samurai” (“I•m a fuckin• samurai from the dark side, watchin• hockey in my jockeys.”), “Tie Me Up,” and “Barbecue.” The last song, “Bring It On,” is absolutely rocking and definitely my favorite – I love it! I•ve listened to this CD a few times now, and never find myself pushing fast-forward, so I think they are all pretty good! There is no filler. With their great charisma on stage and a debut CD like this one, with bombastic guitars and so many vocal hooks that it just make you want to sing along, they just might bring some needed respect back to punk!
