American Devices

Montreal’s American Devices are unfortunately one of Canada’s best-kept secrets. American Devices founders Rob Labelle and Rick Trembles grew out of Montreal’s intimate but fertile 1970s punk scene through a slew of pre-A-Devices musical endeavours, and the band’s head-spinning line-up changes tie in an exhaustive history of Canada’s underground music scene throughout the last few decades. This 25-year retrospective collection contains 22 tracks that capture what Trembles has referred to as "the band that never was.” Although American Devices can certainly be aligned with straight-up punk influences and would no doubt have given their contemporaries the Pointed Sticks some tough competition, this band did not quite find their local scene falling in love with them anytime soon. This comprehensive album will likely create some converts while picking up a whole new fan base along the way. As the first few notes of "Bay of Pigs” starts trickling in, the momentum behind American Devices becomes unshakable. The live version of "The Drugs We Take,” recorded in 1982, is infused with post-punk sensibilities and involved arrangements. Although the band’s career has seen them remain a cultural obscurity, American Devices have continued on, and as this album plays on with tracks spanning the band’s lifetime, songs like "Fifty/Fifty” show that they have remained much in the same vein throughout the years.