Photo by Jessica Kaminski
The first thing you notice about Devil Met Contention is that they match. In a nod to the classic country and blues acts that inspired the band’s dusky roots rock, the quartet dresses in matching shiny suits, though singer/songwriter Ehson Rad admits they’re beginning to lose a little bit of their attire.
“I’m pretty sure they’re a little less shiny than when we got them,” Rad says. “I have a garment bag and you can see there’s a little bit of gold that’s been wiped off from the fabric. We’ve been wearing these same suits for quite a while, so we’re not quite sure how much longer they’ll last—minus the dry cleaning we’re just hoping they don’t fall apart. But hopefully we’ll be able to get another year out of them.”
The suits, Rad explains, are mostly a gesture of showmanship. “It makes me feel like we’re a band when we’re all standing there matching—I think it helps the performance,” he says. “I don’t know if anybody else in the band agrees, but when I put on my white shoes I know it’s time to play.” But they’re also a manifestation of the same desire to connect with the past that drives Rad’s songwriting. The group’s debut full-length, Fuel The Lights, of ravaged small towns and cities left behind. Some songs tell of decades-old traumas, while others detail wounds that are all too fresh, most notably “Ferguson,” which captures that city’s civil-rights protests via a squalling, Dylan-esque rock number.
“I think I started writing songs out of interest in the American folk tradition, but I wanted to show how the struggles people were writing music about in the past are the same struggles we have today,” Rad says. “If there’s any anger or frustration or love or less in the songs, it’s because everybody can relate.”
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Recorded over a couple weekends with Shane Hochstetler at his Howl Street Recordings studio in Bay View, Fuel The Lights kicks a little bit of the grit off of Devil Met Contention’s sound. Where their previous EP, American Times, leaned harder on the growled disquietude of Tom Waits, Lights is at once softer and more self-assured. It even makes time for a waltzing gypsy jazz song, “Dark on the Horizon,” which adds accordion, melodica and trombone to the mix. Rad credits the rest of the band—guitarist David Schuyler, bassist Max Nemer and a drummer who simply goes by the name Nez—for being open to new sounds.
“Everybody in this band is really accepting of change,” Rad says. “In the past we focused on gruff, rocky songs, but the first song on this album doesn’t even have drums; it’s more of a quiet ballad. Our guitarist David has changed a lot. He still has ripping guitar solos but he’s exploring other ways of playing. We’re always looking for ways to expand our sound.”
Devil Met Contention play a Milwaukee Boat Line concert cruise with The Mighty Deerlick on Friday, July 15 at 8:30 p.m.
