Aquí presentamos a este grupo de profesores de ingles, Naturales de Philadelphia.A pesar de que el vídeo es del 2009 esta canción aparece en su último trabajo autoproducido, muy recomendable por su frescura y naturalidad. Aunque se mencione a REM y a The Smiths como referencias, yo los encuentro más cerca del
Graham Parker de finales de los 70's.Que los disfrutéis.
Milton and the Devils Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit]Overview
Milton and the Devils Party is an American Indie rock band from Philadelphia, PA. It was formed in
2001 by singer-songwriter-bassist Daniel Robinson and guitarist Mark Graybill. Drummer Bob Falgie
joined in 2006.
Critics frequently compare the band's sound to The Smiths and to R.E.M. and praise the songs' lyrics,
noting that Robinson and Graybill are English professors. One review credits the band with the invention
of a new sub-genre called "jangle noir". One critic writes, "Sure the music is intelligent but it's far from
exclusionary".[1] In an interview with Metro Philadelphia, Robinson says, "We don’t want people to think
that we’re pompous. We don’t take ourselves too seriously."[2]
As Robinson explains in numerous interviews, the name of the band is derived from a passage in William
Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell in which Blake calls the poet John Milton "a true Poet and of the
Devils party without knowing it".[3] Robinson tellsMetro Philadelphia, "There's a famous belief that (John)
Milton when he wrote Paradise Lost and created the character of Satan, he inadvertently made Satan
more interesting and appealing than any of the good characters. . . . It's kind of a joke. I thought it
would be a funny name for a rock band because there's that whole silly tradition of rock Satanism
." Though he is frequently compared to Elvis Costello, Robinson asserts that his main songwriting
[edit]History
Robinson and Graybill met while pursuing their doctorates at the University of South Carolina.[4]
When both ended up at Widener University, they decided to form Milton and the Devils Party.
The band played its first show on July 5, 2002 at the Philadelphia venue Club 218 on South St.
The original lineup included Robinson, Graybill, guitarist Pat Manley, and drummer Martin Evans.[5]
After building a small following consisting mostly of Robinson and Graybill's students at Widener University,
the band went into the studio with New Jersey producer Harris London to record its first album,
What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? The self-released CD featured 12 songs and received some
impressive critical notices upon its release in 2004. Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote,
"As you'd suspect, their lyrics have an edge, but the spirit of songs like 'End of the Affair,' 'Perfect Breasts'
and 'Ugly American' is more sarcastic punk than high-falutin' poetics. And the band's propulsive, power pop
music offers the sweet-and-sour whiff of an Elvis Costello or R.E.M. anthem."[6] Philadelphia Weeklywrote,
"The Philly quartet's debut What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? finds singer/songwriter/bassist
Daniel Robinson charmingly channeling the bee-stung sincerity of Elvis Costello and Matthew Sweet."[7]
The greatest strength of the band appears to be the literary quality of the songs: as a reviewer for Glorious
Noise put it, "What Is All This Sweet Work Worth?, the first album from Philadelphia's Milton and
the Devils Party, combines lyrical complexity with powerful pop hooks. But this is no snotty adolescent
parade of undergraduate pseudo-intellectualism. Sharp and catchy, this CD deserves a broad audience".[8]
The title of the album comes from a line in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Love's Philosophy." One song,
"To Jane", is derived from poems Shelley wrote to Jane Williams.
In 2006, the band released an "expanded and revised edition" of What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? on
the New Jersey power-pop label FDR. This version contains two additional songs and enhanced arrangements
of the original tracks. Reviews were mixed: one reviewer found a spiritual allegory in the songs [9] and another
found it to be "banal" and "familiar".[10] The re-release received only slight press attention, some of it strongly
negative.[11] The band did have some success on college radio.
In 2007 the band signed with Philadelphia indie label Transit of Venus, label home of The Trolleyvox. With
new drummer Bob Falgie replacing Evans, they recorded their second album in the fall of 2007. How Wicked
We've Become was released in September 2007 and was produced by Brian McTear, who has produced
The A-Sides, Matt Pond PA, and B.C. Camplight. With this album the band began to reach a wider national
audience and received more positive reviews. Allmusic gave this album three and a half stars, describing it as
having an "'80s college rock feel" and comparing Graybill's guitar playing to Peter Buck and Johnny Marr.[12]
The band also played its first showcase at CMJ's Music Marathon in October 2007.
The band in 2007 also contributed a cover of The Kinks' "Victoria" to the FDR label compilation About a Girl,
featuring covers of songs with women's names in the title.
In the summer of 2008, while still promoting How Wicked We've Become, the band began recording its third
album, again with McTear in Philadelphia. For several years the fate of this album remained unknown.
On 20 December 2008, the band played a show to celebrate Milton's 400th birthday at the World Cafe Live
in Philadelphia.
In May of 2012, the band performed an entire set of songs by R.E.M. in recognition of the latter's disbanding
at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia.
In the fall of 2012, MDP launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to release their third album, recorded
in 2008, "You Must Contribute, Brain!" The title of the album comes from a poem by poet Robert Southey
that Robinson adapted as the song "Brain!" This album was released by the band on 19 February 2013. [13]
[edit]Discography
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? | Self-released |
| 2006 | What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? (Expanded and Revised Edition) | FDR Label |
| 2007 | How Wicked We've Become | Transit of Venus |
| 2013 | You Must Contribute, Brain! | Self-released |
| 2013 | Triumvirate | Self-released |
[edit]External links
- Milton and the Devils Party Official website
- Milton and the Devils Party on Allmusic
- A long review at Two-Way Monologues
- A recent article from the "Widener Magazine"
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