415. Q: Are we not Men? A: We are Devo! - Devo

A band I knew a bit about following reading Simon Reynolds' excellent Rip it up and Start again, the only song of theirs I was familiar with was Whip it. It transpires that this is from their second album, so again we were presented with a completely unfamiliar set of tracks. And the titles did not look promising, to be frank Jocko Homo and Mongoloid not inspiring us to be excited. The album was produced by Brian Eno, however, so that's something in its favour.

DEVO are a post-punk band from Ohio who aimed to provoke discussion through their artistic sensibilities. Their live shows became legendary, as they'd always be dressed in some experimental outfits, and made use of an array of high art ideas. The hype surrounding the group grew, and they were signed to Warner Bros following supportive noises being made by Iggy Pop and David Bowie in 1978.

The cover of Satisfaction is great, taking the anthemic Rolling Stones number and turning it into a teutonic rail against everyday life. Praying hands has a fantastic guitar sound coupled with an almost nursery rhyme-esque lyrical simplicity. The frankly terribly titled Mongoloid is actually the stand out track for me, with a driving rhythm that sustains your attention throughout. Having listened to the lyrics carefully on this song, it is actually about someone with a mental disability who is able to lead a full and active life, indeed being "happier than you and me", which enabled me to feel more comfortable listening to it.

Whilst I enjoyed parts of the album, it appears less than the sum of its parts to me. There'll be a great refrain, or chorus, or angular guitar sound, but the time these moments is to long, making it a struggle to remain entirely focused on the album. Chloe picked out the bridge on Jocko Homo as a great example of how good they can sound when they get it right. 

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 3. Praying Hands
Olly's rating: 6
Olly's favourite track: 5. Mongoloid

Next week we have 641. Done by the Forces of Nature by the Jungle Brothers, one of the last Hip Hop albums of the 80s.