Viva Voce - 'From The Devil Himself' (Full Time Hobby) 24/07/06

It seems like having a two piece band comprised of one girl and one boy isn't a bad idea at all. It worked out alright for those guys in red and white and their darker cousins The Kills seem to be doing ok as well. Rumours aside though, Viva Voce have the unique privilege (and it really is kids) of being married as well. Squabbles over the kitchen table? Arguments over who is taking the kid's to school? We have no idea really. What we do know is that from the start of 'From The Devil Himself's Jesus And Mary Chain reverb guitars and harmonies all the above is a bit irrelevant really.

Lyrically, there isn't much being held back here really: "You were sent by the devil himself to me". It's not a marital tiff, more an attack at what trouser wearer Kevin Robinson describes as 'the vampires who attempt to suck the life out of everything good and pure'. Who these so-called vampires are isn't too clear, for all we know it could well be music journalists ignoring the music to write about how they are married. Maybe. Either way, From The Devil Himself resonates with the sinister background of The Kills, soulful boy/girl harmonies and fuzzy sixties west-coast sound that makes it both uplifting and disturbing at the same time. There are plenty of hand-clap moments and tambourine shakes and even a wig-out psychedelic guitar part at the end, which by our standards makes it great.