Which Handsome Devil?: A love letter to my favourite band

“I don't mind the sun in my eyes
The smell of the sweat / The buzz of the flies
Death comes alive / Death coming to life”

- Tree Food

Back in 2006 I, like many others, was enamored with a little game called Guitar Hero. As many of my friends and flatmates of that time can probably attest it got played a lot in my flat. As a lifelong music fan who never learned to play a real guitar it was the perfect game for me. I was never foolish enough to believe that being good at a Playstation game was a substitute for the real thing but I saw it as a new way of enjoying music. It forced you to listen to songs you might otherwise avoid and it helped you get more familiar with songs you already liked. All was well and good with the world. When Guitar Hero 2 came out I was no less infatuated with the franchise. This game boasted more tracks from a more diverse array of artists. One particular track stood out to me and left a lasting impression. It was called 'Elephant Bones' by a band I had never heard of, a That Handsome Devil from Boston. Perhaps they only made it in by being from the same city as Harmonix who made Guitar Hero. At any rate there was little to no information about this band so I continued with my life.

Fast forward to 2009 and I got my grubby mitts on Rock Band 2, a later iteration of the genre. This game also featured That Handsome Devil with a fun wee song called 'Rob the Prez-o-dent'. I spotted it on the track list and a bolt of realization struck me. “I know that band name” I thought. I jumped onto iTunes and to my delight they had an album and an EP available for purchase and I was all too happy to oblige (seriously, I bought them). That album was A City Dressed In Dynamite. Not only has it become one of the most played albums in my home but it helped elevate That Handsome Devil to being one of my favourite bands. Since then it became my personal goal to push the music of THD onto anybody who would listen to me. I've always had the reputation for being an over-enthusiastic music nut but this was different: I felt that it was my duty to spread the good word. My enthusiasm was bolstered by the release of another album and two more EPs since then and I have consumed each of the ravenously. One of those EPs was a free release and features covers of songs from Disney's The Jungle Book. Weird huh?

So what is it about THD that does it for me? Evasive as it might sound, its not just one thing. Being a fan of Faith No More, Primus, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Gorillaz, Reverend Horton Heat, and alternative hip hop certainly helped as these are all musical touchstones for the band. They bounce from rock, to rap, to blues, to funk, to jazz, to rockabilly so quick your head will spin. What is better though is that THD make unabashed party music. It is just plain fun to listen to at your local house party, family reunion, or church sermon. Godforbid, singer and chief raconteur, has a brilliant and intangible quality to his vocals and a cynicism to his lyrics that really strikes a chord with me. The world is not a kind and friendly place. It is filled with egotists, warmongers, liars, and assholes at the top and the rest of us – from whores and drug addicts to those simply down on their luck and needing a break – get crammed in down the bottom of the pile. So when I hear a lyric that proclaims “I always thought that I'd die young / Make some money, be someone / They all love you when you're gone / But who knew life would be so long?” it feels as though my own world view was being validated. One of my mottos is that we all have dirt on us, it just takes a special kind of person to act like it. In That Handsome Devil we finally have a band who not only acts like it, they thrive on it.

As much as I can blather on about this band's merits (and there are plenty of those, trust me) the sad truth of the matter is that they are not a globe trotting world famous act. They all work regular jobs like you and I and tour around their corner of the US when they can manage it. This band has had a such a profound effect on my life in the last few years it is downright depressing to think that they will probably never be able to afford to play in my home country of New Zealand. Even still I will continue to bang a drum on their behalf on the other side of the world and eagerly await a new album.

Wake the fuck up people! That Handsome Devil are out there somewhere, sleazing away in a dive bar somewhere for spare change and beer money. The least you could do is buy all their albums and share their brilliance with a like-minded friend or two. Try here for starters.

Essential albums: That Handsome Devil EP, A City Dressed in Dynamite, Enlightenment's for Suckers EP, The Heart Goes to Heaven the Head Goes to Hell, The Jungle Book EP … just get fucking all of it!