After takin’ over and running with the devil, New Device reveal their sensitive side
You might not want to rehash the past but sometimes, there’s something that shines like a beacon in a band’s past. That is certainly the case with New Device. For whatever else happens in their future then no one will ever deny the fact that they opened for Bon Jovi at the 02 Arena in front of 20 odd thousand people. MV was there.
We’d also been since the start too. From when they were the first band to release a record on the short-lived label run by Classic Rock, when they played a free gig in Nuneaton with The Treatment, Million Dollar Reload and a couple of other bands. The point here is this: New Device have tasted both ends of the rock n roll twists of fate.
Which is exactly why it is been great to see their ambitious plans for a series of four EP’s come to such glorious fruition. The live album was great, last year’s “Devil’s On The Run” was even better, which leads neatly to “Coming Home”.
Five acoustic songs (there’s two bonus ones on the CD version) to show their sensitive side. The key here is that these are brand new tunes. Meaning they aren’t reworkings and thus avoiding some unplugged style car crash – or worse the type of bobbins that the aforementioned Jovi managed to get so spectacularly wrong on “This Left Feels Right.”
Instead, these sound fresh and vital. You can almost sense “Everything” bursting to rock out, but it manages to restrain itself just enough. “I Miss You” has a hint of the grandiose about it for all its apparent stripped down qualities, while the mournful blues, country flourishes make the title track the absolute stand out here.
It’s striking how New Device have managed to take the acoustic framework and keep it different each time. “Collide” is testament to their skill as songwriters, while “On The Wind” – the longest of the of songs is an arena rocker in waiting.
The bonus tracks are more fresh approaches. “On Your Knees” manages to possess a fine groove, while “Heaven Knows” has a touch of the shimmering US West Coast sound about it.
New Device are too talented not to make a breakthrough. The fact they are only three quarters of the way through this project, and have already done so much proves that. This is no stopgap, either. Instead, it’s a mighty fine EP full of great songs. To paraphrase the title of their debut album. This is New Device getting closer to takin’ over.
Rating 8/10
