Awake And Alert

Devil In A Lambskin Suit

[3.5/5]

As far as album openers go, “Flight” is deceiving. One would expect the rest of the album to follow suit: After hearing a plaintive, smooth ballad marked by piano and female singing. In sharp contrast, most of the songs on Awake And Alert’s Devil In A Lambskin Suit revolve around off-time rhythms and atypical guitar patterns. Smother on Maya Peart’s soaring, near-operatic vocals and the result is a solid, confident and unique debut. Though the band call Mesa, Arizona, home, a distinct D.C. air hangs over their music: Denali and Engine Down sound like influences, the former on Peart’s vocals and the latter for the rhythm section. The title track collects those inspirations and reinvents them effectively, coalescing beautifully later on the propulsive “Vows.” Yet the band still manage to find time to ease up on the math rock with the heartstring-pulling “If It’s So.” (FIVE ONE INC.) Casey Boland