Devon Williams

Having already travelled a surprising distance musically, from his early days in punk band Osker to whimsical pop ensemble Lavender Diamond, Devon Williams is changing gears again on his second solo album. Following in the grand tradition of well-arranged orchestral pop, Euphoria attempts to stay away from the now clichéd Brian Wilson school of vocal layering and sleigh bells, preferring to take the more sophisticated approach that Eric Matthews favours. It makes for some lovely ear candy, as Williams sings about the usual love-related misadventures. The first half of the album is very strong ― almost impossibly so ― and as a result, the final third is slightly anticlimactic when it simply repeats all the admittedly neat tricks again. Yet there isn't a weak moment, making Williams one of the best purveyors of honest-to-goodness pop music since Julian Henry and the Hit Parade. This is a very aptly titled album.