Mothersbaugh says the album has no title yet, and while he has toyed with the idea of leaving it untitled, he says, “We probably won’t opt for that.” He’s also avoiding being too specific about what kind of music the album will contain but says it started with an urge to go back to the group’s roots, and ended up becoming a modern re-imagining of those roots. “I had this strong desire to make 12 songs that sounded totally interchangeable with our first or second album,” Mothersbaugh says. “But then, after we started writing things, and that’s the first place that they went to, we were kind of like, ‘Well, let’s think this out more,’ and they became more modern. We decided if we were really true to Devo, and Devo just started today, we wouldn’t be doing music that was historical.”
For a band that has always been more concerned with the future than the past, this approach makes a certain kind of sense. Even so, Mothersbaugh feels the new record might shake up some longtime fans. “I’m sure we’re going to have our fair share of Devo fans that are shocked by the record,” he says. “But, we’re also hoping that we’re going to connect with people that wouldn’t already be the choir. It’s an experiment for us.”
I'll agree with him that if they were to be true to the warped Devo vision, they wouldn't recreate their first albums, which were classics. I hope they deconstruct modern times, not rehash the late 1970s and ignore the present moment. The point is that Devo's music is just as relevant now as it was 30 years ago. With our democracy facing down one nihilistic political party (and a feckless party in power), renewed corporate influence in politics, two wars and the ungodly-named menaces known as Predator and Reaper drones, I think it's safe to say we have not evolved.
Long live devolution.
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