“His hands were both tied, he smiled at his daughter.”
Let’s go. That’s the first line on “Hanging By The Roots” the first track on “Yours Until The War Is Over” and proves my long-held belief that Danny Kiranos- the man behind Amigo The Devil (and where one stops and the other starts I can’t say) is the finest user of words in music. These aren’t “lyrics” this isn’t “poetry”. These are tales.
Stories set to music. And what can you say about “It’s All Gone” except it’s a nightmarish maelstrom that has a little bit of Waits about it, but what our friend Amigo does defies mere comparison.
When you start chucking words about like “genius” around records, then you can look a bit silly, but sod it. You see, if Sam Mendes is going to make four films about the most overrated band this side of Q***n, then Christ knows how many he could get out of “I’m Going To Heaven”. You’ll hate this if you like “normal”. If you like songs about getting high on Ketamine and going to heaven to seek revenge on Jesus, then all the best.
By comparison “The Mechanic” is relatively normal (but to be fair you could say that about almost literally any song that followed “…..Heaven”. However, delve a little deeper and there’s proper heartbreak: “We used to be happy but used to be is all we’ve become” he ….well what exactly? ATD doesn’t sing, he just sort of intones and cajoles the words.
The music – and quite rightly we’ve focused on the words – can’t be overlooked. He always seems to instinctively know how to pitch these things. It’s absolutely glorious. “Once Upon A Time In A Texaco Pt 1” is a miniseries on Netflix on its own. It has even got its own cliff-hanger.
Indeed, these are big-screen epics playing out in our headphones. “Barrel And Staghorn” made up of calls to the emergency services, is genuinely emotional and the characters in “Agnes” are simply gorgeous, as are the oddly disconcerting harmonies.
There are occasions, though – and this is the case on all Amigo The Devil records – where you feel like you’re intruding on pain: “I always thought my biggest fear would somehow be love related, not fentanyl.” He offers on “The Cannibal Within” as he lays struggles bare.
There’s no doubt, though about the most upsetting. “The Garden Of Leaving” is one of the most harrowing songs I’ve ever heard and there’s bleak beauty about the line: “The drive home was unbearable/The baby seat held nothing but a feeling”.
Maybe “bleak beauty” is the best way of describing what Amigo The Devil does. “Virtue And Vitriol” is filled with it.
“One Day At A Time” has some old-fashioned music, even sounding happy. Then the words happen. Enough said? Likewise, “Stray Dog” boasts something approaching a riff, and I guess you’d call it a love song ATD style.
It ends with a simply astonishing spoken-word piece “Closer” – which deals with the human condition. And in four minutes 24 seconds almost nails it. It nails it by offering no answers. Only questions. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the artist himself? Always searching and never finding? Maybe that’s a metaphor for all of us as we try and eke out whatever happiness we can find.
“It never ends” hangs in the air as the very last line, and there’s no doubt loads more in him yet. You get the feeling that Danny Kiranos is one of those people who doesn’t just want to do this, but he needs to. There’s a subtle but distinct difference.
Also, let’s be honest about this, his music doesn’t have mass appeal. It’ll baffle many and do nothing for others, that’s fine and I’m imagining that he’s not too bothered.
Those of us though, who call this Devil our friend as it were, know that Danny Kiranos is quite simply the best at what he does – even if what he does defies categorisation.
Rating 10/10 (and I’d give it 11 if I could)
REVIEW: AMIGO THE DEVIL- YOURS UNTIL THE WAR IS OVER (2024)
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