Amigo The Devil - Born Against (Album Review)
2018’s ‘Everything Is Fine’ was one of that year's finest releases and marked Danny Kiranos aka Amigo The Devil as one to watch. ‘Everything Is Fine' is a terrific record full of dark imagery unhindered by genre stereotypes. It might not be quite everyone’s cup of tea but if you like a good murder ballad delivered by a heavily bearded man with a banjo then ‘Everything Is Fine’ could well become your go-to album. As it turned out the album only told half the story as the RGM team found on our last but one pre lockdown night out in February of 2020. The Amigo The Devil live experience is something else entirely, ‘Everything Is Fine’ is a fantastic record but put ATD on a stage and the results are very special. In forty years of gig-going, I’ve rarely seen an artist connect with an audience in the same way as ATD. The subject matter might often be jet black but ATD is not without humour and his followers appreciate the honesty within and can relate to his grasp of the daily problems we all face, and how we deal with those problems that have, in many cases, been exaggerated by the world around us in 2021.
So, no pressure then on ‘Born Against’ proving to be a worthy successor to ‘Everything Is Fine’? For this new record, ATD has teamed up with Texas Gentlemen and in-demand producer Beau Bedford at Modern Electric Sound Recorders studio in Dallas for the recording of ‘Born Against’. Those familiar with Bedford’s work, especially the Texas Gentlemen albums, will appreciate that Bedford has scant regard for musical boundaries which makes him, in many ways, a perfect choice to collaborate with ATD. The sound of ‘Born Against’ is similar to ‘Everything Is Fine’ but worlds apart at the same time. The underlying hard rock/metal edge that was such a feature of Ross Robinson’s production on ‘Everything Is Fine’ has been replaced by something a little different (ATD and Bedford are both credited with Sound Design). ATD is still very much ATD but sonically ‘Born Against’ is a different beast, not better or worse, just different.
That sound design is to the fore as treated vocals usher in ‘Small Stone’ before Matt Combs’ sumptuous strings join piano and acoustic guitar expanding things musically and setting the scene for ATD’s hugely impressive, almost operatic, Roy Orbison style vocal then; frankly, everything goes to an unsettling musical hell. ‘Small Stone’ is an album in three minutes. Discordant, clanky percussion and the striking addition of Jordache Grant’s tuba and clarinet add a weird, otherworldly New Orleans feel - like something out of an episode of Treme - to ‘Quiet As A Rat’ but overall musically and lyrically ‘Everyone treats commandments like more of a bucket list’ this is pure ATD. The recent single ‘Murder At The Bingo Hall’ is a darkly humorous tale of a man taking his bingo obsession to extremes (you’ll never look at those little grey-haired old ladies in Las Vegas, with their cigarettes and oxygen tanks, in quite the same way again). To match our protagonist’s insatiable lust to win at bingo ATD and Bedford have paired the lyrics with an insistent keyboard pulse, seemingly borrowed from a John Carpenter movie score, which is pretty much genius.
‘Drop For Every Hour’ is prime ATD as Dennis Crouch’s ominous upright bass and the return of Matt Combs warped strings add intensity to a flamenco/mariachi hybrid that finds a father out for revenge; ‘I never knew how patient I could be until I watched you bleed’ ATD claims and I believe him. We then enjoy (cough) ‘Better Ways To Fry A Fish’ which sounds like a musical version of Uli Roth’s brand of torture porn and is gone in a flash. ‘Different Anymore’ and ‘Another Man’s Grave’ find ATD at his most reflective with the backing vocals wonderfully ethereal on the former while the mix of acoustic guitars and strings is equally effective on the latter. By this point in the album, ATD is firing on all cylinders as banjo makes a welcome return on the jauntily, humorous ‘24K Casket’ where dodging bird poo is just one of many things in life sent to try us and then we die, hopefully with dignity. ‘Shadow’ is darkness personified as Bedford’s organ does battle with clanking percussion that sounds like the crashing of cash registers ala Pink Floyd’s Money. The album concludes with ‘Letter From Death Row’ which is a classic in the “sending regrets from a prison cell in the shadow of the noose” brand of storytelling that’s been a staple of folk and country music for decades and very few do this sort of thing quite as well as ATD.
With ‘Born Against’ Amigo The Devil builds on the success of ‘Everything Is Fine’ as he expands and refines what has gone before without losing any of the things that make ATD a one-of-a-kind artist. Will it replace ‘Everything Is Fine’ in my affections? I’m not sure, it’s too early to tell but standing on its own merits ‘Born Against’ is a fine record from an artist who stands out in a crowd. If I’ve one small criticism it’s that, at just 33 mins, the album is over in a flash and I’m left wanting more. Luckily I’ve solved that problem with the repeat button on the CD player. Life is good again.
Born Against is released on April 16th via Liars Club / Regime Music Group.
2018’s ‘Everything Is Fine’ was one of that year's finest releases and marked Danny Kiranos aka Amigo The Devil as one to watch. ‘Everything Is Fine' is a terrific record full of dark imagery unhindered by genre stereotypes. It might not be quite everyone’s cup of tea but if you like a good murder ballad delivered by a heavily bearded man with a banjo then ‘Everything Is Fine’ could well become your go-to album. As it turned out the album only told half the story as the RGM team found on our last but one pre lockdown night out in February of 2020. The Amigo The Devil live experience is something else entirely, ‘Everything Is Fine’ is a fantastic record but put ATD on a stage and the results are very special. In forty years of gig-going, I’ve rarely seen an artist connect with an audience in the same way as ATD. The subject matter might often be jet black but ATD is not without humour and his followers appreciate the honesty within and can relate to his grasp of the daily problems we all face, and how we deal with those problems that have, in many cases, been exaggerated by the world around us in 2021.