Classic Day – De-Humanizer

Well on their way into being the trailblazers of the 1980s, DEVO could attach themselves as the band of both the future that is encapsulated by the past. With glistening synths and catchy production, Freedom Of Choice is a monster for jumping into becoming a personal favorite for the rubberized jam band.

Opening with “Girl U Want,” DEVO makes a Fastbreak with the rambunctious plucking guitar strings and strange, almost candied synthesizer rolls. Underneath is the percussion handled directly by Alan Myers, the only non-related member of DEVO. The other pair is Mark Mothersbaugh on lead vocals, keyboards, and guitars. Alongside is his brother Bob Mothersbaugh on the guitar and backing vocals, giving Greg Casale the lead/backing vocals, bass, and keyboard sections. His brother Bob Casale covers the guitar, keyboards, and vocals, making Freedom Of Choice this pentagon of new wave adventure.

Tracks like “Whip It” are well known as a showcase for just how popular the strange can be in DEVO’s discography, but other tracks like the title-cut “Freedom Of Choice” need to be highlighted because they introduce industrial tactics before the genre was created. The stomping metallic bass that reflects like a hammer on sheet metal gives the foundation, then as DEVO joins in over, the band is catchy and continues to snatch the ear.

Describing, “Then if you got it, you don’t want it. Seems to be the rule of thumb, don’t be tricked by what you see. You got two ways to go.” The chorus picks up to be more of a coalition as Mothersbaugh illustrates, “I’ll say it again in the land of the free. Use your freedom of choice, freedom of choice.”

The record Freedom Of Choice plays best when kept as a placeholder for the cylinder and constructed hats that the band would dawn for this record. The all-black jumpsuits that reflected mystic men of the future come out to push an agenda with the track “That’s Pep!” where DEVO is able to harmonize over what appears again as industrial foregrounds.

The harsh warping synths resemble something out of 70’s stoner rock while the chimes hit like rain on a tin roof and give this golden standard of mixing the strange with the pop.

DEVO comes into the 1980s bearing more than just the red hats, they give an image into the experimental style that many other bands would follow and try to recreate with Freedom Of Choice. While still more odd than mainstream, the band found a vein to fall into and a way to intrude television sets using your Freedom Of Choice.

Listen To Freedom Of Choice Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes