Devics

This disc will draw you into its clutches like intoxicating ether. Sara Lov’s smooth vocals are nothing short of seductive and 30 seconds into "Red Morning” there’s no turning back. Although from L.A., they recorded this fourth LP in an Italian farmhouse in St. Andrea and whether it was the Mediterranean air or something divine, they were inspired greatly. Shades of Mazzy Star and Portishead give the romantic, lazy, idleness that’ll leave you in a haze of smoky melody. Lov is the backbone to these ten songs; her voice so soulfully sweet it could melt the speakers. She trades off on vocal duties with Dustin O’Holloran, but the real shining moments are their duets ("In Your Room”). Song after song, the guitars strum their penetrating and often dark rhythms while the rest of O’Holloran’s instrumentation saunter in behind. Adding even more of elegance is the piano in tunes like "Stretch Out Your Arms” and "Ending.” Restrained, sombre and beautiful, this is the soundtrack to rainy days and nights spent musing over a bottle of Chianti — which is surely how this masterpiece was composed.