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‘Coming Home’ is the third installment in a series of four EPs the quartet from London, New Device, are working their way through. Previous releases, ‘Takin’ Over London’ and ‘Devils On The Run’ showed great promise, and hinted at a band not afraid to take risks. This one is full on acoustic. Putting themselves out there with no Marshall stacks to hide behind is indeed risky, but kudos to New Device for having the balls to go for it. Just as well that they have pulled it off then! For me, the benchmark for acoustic recordings is the Alice In Chains pair of “Sap” and “Jar Of Flies”. Yes, I know that there are a few plugged in electric moments here and there, but essentially they are stripped back organic moments that still chill the bones to this day. Nirvana ‘MTV Unplugged’ gets all the plaudits and praise, but give me Alice In Chains any day. The first thing to mention about ‘Coming Home’ is the production from Phil Kinman. It’s crisp, clear, and precise, take a bow, sir! While we’re handing out praise, a quick round of applause for the incredible cover art, laid side by side with the two earlier EP’s it makes a stunning piece of art. The production and packaging wouldn’t count if the music was inferior though, thankfully it matches the quality of both. Daniel Leigh has a hugely familiar voice. You might not have heard him before, but when the EP begins with ‘Everything’, chances are you will have something in your album collection that makes you go “A-ha” in recognition. It’s a classic rock vocal performance, hopeful, insightful, and thought provoking. ‘Everything’ is a gentle introduction to the EP, Bon Jovi style storytelling with the backing vocal harmonies proving to be very effective. ‘I Miss You’ features a lovely (can you use the word “lovely” in a rock review?) bass sound from Nick Hughes. It’s quiet and unobtrusive, but powerful nonetheless. Pair that with the drumming skills of Roz Ison and it’s the engine room team that take the plaudits on this one. ‘Coming Home’ is up next, and the title track is stunning… one of those stop-you-in-your-tracks moments. The gorgeous guitars from Matt Mallery constantly change from gentle picking to frantic strumming throughout. The arrangements are massive and the song lives long in the memory after it fades out. Stream the track here ‘Collide’ is more upbeat than the title track, with lots of room for audience participation. A very uplifting track that deserves a mass audience. ‘On The Wind’ closes off the digital version of the EP, but you don’t wanna do that, do you? You want to go for the CD version that includes two extra tracks, of course you do. £7 for seven tracks, bingo bango! Especially since ‘On Your Knees’ and ‘Heaven Knows’ are the bonus tracks. The former, a cautionary tale of how money will screw you up, while the latter begins with a gentle swing that soon gives way to a heartfelt vocal performance from Leigh. The vocal harmonies are again nailed on and the extra few quid on the CD version is money well spent. With the mainstream rock music press transfixed on hailing Inglorious as the “saviours of rock” they run the risk of ignoring countless acts bubbling under, acts like New Device. Acts worthy of your attention. Available now, order ‘Coming Home’ here and get more information on New Device, including tour dates over on Facebook Review – Dave Stott ]]>
