Stealthy but forward enough to make a strong impression with nothing more than Devmo’s lead vocal, the opening track “Detached” from the new EP Tears undisputedly sets the stage for all of the hybridity soon to come in this five-track sampler. Featuring Dean Risko in a memorable guest appearance, “Detached” makes it clear that, despite her interest in clandestine catharsis beneath a meld of hip-hop beats and candied melodic pop vocals, Devmo is a singer/songwriter focused on sonic physicality more than she is anything else. When she’s off and running in Tears, there’s no slowing her momentum down; while running just under three minutes total, the pressure-soaked “Self-Deprecation” takes the formula of its tracklist predecessor and maximizes all of the ingredients, only pushing us further to the edge of our seats as the record truly starts coming into focus.
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The first couple of songs here are probably the poppiest of the bunch (from an instrumental perspective at least), but by the time Devmo turns her attention to The Kid LAROI-esque “Getting in the Way,” it’s obvious that she wants to give us as much of a crossover persona in Tears as she does a straightforward songwriter’s showcase. The vocal here is frustratingly hesitant and boldly conflictive with the beat in every meaningful juncture ahead of the climax, but it seems like an intentional mechanism to intensify the tension we’re already feeling from the finish of “Self-Deprecation.” In this sense, this EP has quite the progressive value and, dare I say it, a suggestive conceptualism I want to hear its creator experiment with a bit more in the future.
“Hatin’” instrumentally toils with more familiar Soundcloud rap-style sampling akin to a contemporary Trippie Redd B-side, but Devmo’s subtle lead vocal unquestionably preserves the track’s integrity and actually makes it one of the more cerebral and provocatively urgent tunes on the record. Again, there’s serious discord between her flow and the fluidity of the percussion in the backdrop, but it feels so deliberate and timed specifically to be dizzying that I can’t say it’s a negative feature to encounter. Trying to predict what comes next here is next to impossible most of the time, but that’s part of the charm in Tears; it’s a venture into the guarded thoughts of a singer/songwriter ready to embrace isolationism as a means of survival. It’s incredibly relatable coming out of the year that 2020 was, and a rather commendable example of an alternative artist who genuinely takes the branding seriously.
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Tears concludes with “Scared to Die,” a deceptively fragile piece that takes us into the darkness filled with more angst than some might initially have thought Devmo capable of mustering, but all the same, it’s a song I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. While it shamelessly mimics the Pure Heroine model in a few spots and doesn’t hide its affinity for an aging brand of melodic hip-hop, I would be outright lying if I said that Tears didn’t leave me truly shaken by its singer’s willingness to get personal with us around every turn. It’s a cutting and occasionally vicious work of self-awareness and honest composing that doesn’t care what we think of it at the end of the day – for all intents and purposes, this is a beautifully unfiltered diary entry by Devmo set to music most any dedicated pop fan should be able to appreciate.
Troy Johnston