Spirits vinyl

Americana trio The Devil Makes Three bring us their first album since the 2018 release, Chains are Broken. And good things come to those who wait as the saying goes. The California natives have traded the more electrified sound of the previous album and returned to their stripped-down roots, whilst still pushing sonic boundaries with a lush atmospheric feel throughout. A big stand out is 'Hard Times', which is a banjo-flecked banger that feels like a nod to Woody Guthrie thanks to its empathy with people who are struggling and it takes aim at neoliberalism: "It's hard, hard, hard times / They'll charge you dollars / While they're paying you in dimes/ When they said it was going to trickle down / You know that they were lying." What a likeable bunch.