Album Review: "Devil In Here" by Jack The Radio

Jack The Radio will celebrate the release of
"Devil In Here" on Fri. Aug 9 w/ Martha Ann Motel
at The Pour House

For Jack The Radio's third full-length release the band has deviated from their normal. While they're best known for southern-blend of blues driven indie rock, Devil In Here finds the band stripping back the distortion in favor of accentuating the subtleties with a live acoustic performance.

The group added three string players and mic'd up Amplified Art in downtown Raleigh to record two nights of sold-out performances, the result is Devil In Here alongside a live DVD. For a band that so frequently relies on their gritty background, Devil In Here is a refreshing take on a formulaic approach for the band.

Toning down the distortion allows the lyricism and instrumentation to actually take the forefront, rather than the visceral rhythms. A typical Jack The Radio experience is highlighted by their in your face roots rock, but when you forego those hefty sounds you're leaving yourself quite vulnerable. Some of this vulnerability pays off in bunches, tracks that are JTR staples like "Strange" and "Read My Eyes" feel like they were almost made to be acoustic jams. But these are also tracks that have very defined vocal melodies, they've got powerful refrains that have a knack for lingering in your head long after the song has left your ears. On that hand, Devil In Here works to a tee. However, the problem with the album is that all of these songs don't contain memorable melodies, and this aforementioned vulnerability leaves the band feeling a bit lacking.

Surfer Blood, Wye Oak, and Free Energy capture the crowd at Deja Fest + Jack The Radio's Bottom String Session

Through the pounding heat and pounding rain, Deja Fest pulled through and provided for an awesome free event in downtown Raleigh that got me sufficiently stoked for Hopscotch in September.  The festival was put on by Deja Mi, a mobile media sharing app that allows users to share their concert footage and the like on their iPhones or Droids so you can check out what's going on all over town.  It's a pretty nifty app once all of the kinks get worked out and you get over the fact that you're looking at a bunch of people's camera quality pictures, but either way it's provided for a pretty awesome outlet in terms of a great free event for Raleigh.  Bands like Wye Oak, Free Energy, and Surfer Blood stuck out throughout the day but there were quite a few surprises throughout the lineup.