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Devastations: Lullabies For The Drinking Class

devastations2Compared to the commercial success of their arena-rocking countrymen in Wolfmother, Australia’s Devastations barely registered with American audiences in 2006. But things are bound to work out for the upstart trio, because when you sound like Jarvis Cocker & The Bad Seeds, the world beats a path to your doorstep.

Currently, the address of said doorstep is in Berlin, where the members of the sultry rock-noir outfit—singer/bassist Conrad Standish, guitarist/keyboardist Tom Carlyon and drummer Hugo Cran—have relocated in order to better accommodate requests for touring in Europe and North America. Like the Bee Gees, the Go-Betweens and Nick Cave before them, Devastations found it necessary to leave their native Australia, contributing to the brain-drain phenomenon known Down Under as “the cultural cringe.”

“Berlin is the easiest place we could imagine that we could actually live and survive,” says Carlyon, who cites the city’s affordability—not gray-sky atmosphere—as the reason for his band recording bits of sophomore album Coal in Europe. “We went to Prague because we could afford to record there for four days. I’ve never really bought into the idea that the location affects the sound.”

Nevertheless, Devastations established a musical circle of friends and fans in Berlin since first visiting the city in 2003: Angus Andrew (Liars), Rowland S. Howard (Birthday Party), Alex Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten) and the late Nikki Sudden. Hacke even hooked up the band with a gig scoring the 2004 made-for-German-TV movie Sehnsucht.

“We didn’t understand a word of the film,” says Carlyon. “But we picked up the gist of it. It involves some kind of alcoholic, dysfunctional relationship.”

The filmmakers had the right band for the job: Devastations’ music sounds tailor-made for an after-hours bar scene. On Coal, Standish’s baritone sails through songs that range from sinister lounge pop (“Sex And Mayhem”) to glimmer-of-hope weepers (“Terrified,” “Dance With Me”). Issued in the U.S. by the Brassland label (which is co-owned by members of the National), another apt comparison for Devastations), Coal is one of 2006’s most dramatic dark turns.

—Matthew Fritch