May you be in heaven a half hour before the Devil in a Lambskin Suit knows your dead! This aptly named Mesa, AZ quartet has a lot going for it on its diabolically-titled debut album. Maya Peart’s angelic / razor sharp vocal delivery possesses the melodic flexibility of a seasoned jazz chanteuse. The elastic rhythm section of bassist Spencer Reed and drummer Tony Reed do everything in their power to avoid a backbeat and/or a down-beat yet every track seizes a groove to kill for. Blake Kimball is essentially a jack-of-all-trades, plying artsy ethereal textures or playing the role of alt-rock guitar hero to the hilt (Johnny Marr meets Adrian Belew?) Angst emerges in the title track as Kimball’s riffing and furious rhythms compete with Peart’s woeful libretto “facing the prospect of loyalty or sex / you prefer the benefits that come with vapid love” - fortunately the Reeds abruptly shift tempos to temper the melodrama. Prog-rock fans will dig the odd meter of “Starry Eyed Visions” wherein Kimball and bassist Reed engage in a thrilling duel of counter melodies whilst Tony Reed marches to his own drummer. A complicated listen at first, but it grows on you - like a lambskin.
--Tom Semioli
