Album Notes

Among the cacophony of cookie-cutter rock bands, Beat the Devil emerges as a uniquely soulful addition to the Lower East Side of the 21st century. - AM New York Beat The Devil is a live thing. The drummer taps away in back, lanky and weird with a slight twitch. Drunken, brooding basslines played by Mishka Shubaly loom like an elephant as it staggers down the street to the bar. All is centered around the harmonium, a bellowed instrument that sounds of the ocean, sitting tabletop, center stage, like the magician's black hat. Front woman Shilpa Ray wields the wooden box with a spider-like grace, pumping out chords of sorrow that fill the room with a dark, eerie beauty. But perhaps the real magic is in her voice. Ray's ability to project uninhibited emotion using her deep alto moan gives the band a haunting grip. From a melancholic howl to a powerful snarl, she brings to life the St. Augustine's of old and the 40 oz. dry heaves of right now. The show gains momentum, and suddenly the beat explodes across the toms, the bass crunches with distortion, and Ray bursts out a soulful growl. Possessed by some invisible presence in the room, she winds in and out of spasms and convulsions. Beat the Devil is a shovel, casting away all the dirt and repression to reveal those lovely, awful things festering away in your soul. --Urban Folk Beat the Devil mix Billie Holiday-era jazz and blues and old black spirituals with folk and garage rock to come off sounding something like CocoRosie on crystal meth wrestling with Belle and Sebastian and the White Stripes...there are some truly amazing moments. -The Village Voice Singer Shilpa Ray has a crazily charismatic howl, a cocktail of pain and elegance garnished with an anything could happen next rasp. And she ain't playing guitar-- that's a harmonium, and she seems to know what it's good for. Fans of dark addled romantic music should pay heed. - Time Out NY