Devin Townsend – PowerNerd
Devin Townsend – PowerNerd
Inside Out Music
Release Date: 25/10/2024
Running Time: 44:04
Review by Beth Morait
10/10
“OOOOOOOOAAAAAR POWERRRRR NERRRRRRRRDDDDDDD”… Any album that’s gonna start like that is two things:
- Instantly epic
- In need of my attention
The fact that it’s Devin is immaterial. Honest.
So, as you likely already know, I’m rather partial to a bit of Devy, and when a new release drops into our review pile, it’s going in my queue. This latest album from the Canadian God of Prog has been hotly anticipated by myself, and a few others on the team, and I’m very happy to report that it doesn’t disappoint!
It marks a move back to heavy Devy, which I’m loving. According to the press release, this was a conscious move by DT. He felt he’d spent too long overthinking and procrastinating on songs recently, and decided to see what would happen if he didn’t. Well, what happened was an 11-track banger of an album.
Opening with the title track, we’re instantly treated to the full force of Devin’s vocal pipes, which sit within music that’s a blistering homage to the glory days of Hard Rock. It’s impossible not to move to it, and it slaps you in the face with Devin’s signature expansive wall of sound, and of course, the quirkiness for DT’s mind.
However, the halcyon days of Hard Rock are a ruse, masking the real message of this album. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this is just another Rock album. But, the true genius and depth here lie in the lyrics. It’s an exploration of loss and all the emotions connected to those times when loss is raw. And even in the more raucous tracks, the message comes through loud and strong.
Our first stark look at this raw emotion happens in track 2, ‘Falling Apart.’ The music isn’t quite as rip-roaring as the opener, and we get to appreciate fully the pain Devin was exploring, both lyrically and musically. It’s heavy and down-tuned, with a bass-driven melody that takes the breath from your lungs. It’s a spectacular song.
And this is how the album moves forward, ebbing and flowing through up-tempo bangers, and beautiful ballads. And as always there’s signs of an absolutely true musical genius all over the place, hidden in plain sight. Little additions here and there. A sound. A motif. A connection to something that’s come before, like a fleeting memory. Honestly, the more I listen to this album the more I’m convinced that Devin is some kind of higher being. ‘Glacier’ is a fine example of this. There’s a lyric in it – ‘Let the kingdom burn’. And reworkings of the musical motifs from my favourite ever DTP track, ‘Kingdom,’ are hiding within the instrumentation in this track. Fucking genius. It’s like Mozart. Just… there aren’t enough words.
Each time Devin releases new music I say “This is it. Music perfection, that he’ll never be able to top.” And each time, I’m wrong. That said, I think this album is my stand-out favourite since DTP’s “Epicloud.” It’s gone back to the energy, musically, that that album brought, and that for me is the cherry on top of the Devin cake.
There’s so much more I could say about this record. I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts into something coherent for days. But, I’m going to stop now, before I write a thesis on how fucking spectacular DT is. Just take a listen. Do it somewhere quiet, where you can give the album your full attention, and listen to the lyrics. This speaks to my soul in a way nothing else really does.
‘Gratitude’ Official Audio:
TRACKLISTING:
01. PowerNerd
02. Falling Apart
03. Knuckledragger
04. Gratitude
05. Dreams of Light
06. Ubelia
07. Jainism
08. Younger Lover
09. Glacier
10. Ruby Quaker
11. Goodbye
Bonus Tracks:
01. Flow
02. Trustfxxx
03. Vast
04. POWERNERD
LINE-UP:
Devin Townsend – Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Darby Todd – Drums
Diego Tejeida – Keyboards, Synths
Mike Keneally – Additional Keyboards
Jean Savoie – Additional Bass
Aman Khosla – Additional Vocals
Tanya Ghosh – Additional Vocals
Jamie Jasta – Additional Vocals
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Morait and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
