ANOMALY //>

DEV
The Night The Sun Came Up [2011]
3.5/5

I haven't been the worlds biggest Dev fan over the last year. Her collaboration with Fast East Movement on "Like A G6" was beyond annoying, and her stand alone singles 'Booty Bounce' and 'Bass Down Low' seemed to show that she was a one trick pony who sang to the same beat over and over. The only time she did anything that caught my interest was when she released 'Fireball' earlier this year, it was a great track which sadly didn't make the final cut for her album.

After hearing 'The Night The Sun Came Up', i was surprised at how much more varied her production choices were throughout the album. There's a trademark vibe to a lot of the songs which have become very particular to her music thanks to production from frequent collaborators, 'The Cataracts'. Songs like 'In My Trunk', and early single 'Bass Down Low' carry Dev's signature dirty electro beats which long time fans will no doubt love. Other songs like 'Breathe' and 'In The Dark' go down a more Euro-house route, which mixes up her dance tracks nicely.

The opening track, 'Getaway' is proof that Dev should go deeper into more trip hop type of music with the song starting as a piano ballad and then quickly changing into a slow pumping rap tune. Production wise, it's one of the most interesting tracks on the album, and works perfectly as the first song on the record because it shows the listener you'll be in for a few surprises.
'Take Her From You' uses a more rockier sound, complete with whistle hook, 'Lightspeed' is another euro dance heavy track that changes direction ever minute, keeping things fresh throughout the song, and 'Kiss My Lips' could have been handed to anyone from Rihanna or Britney and gone straight to #1 as the next big pop hit if it had a more high profile performer selling it.

Where the album starts to fall apart is with the ballads. None of them are particularly strong, but a couple of them are enjoyable enough. 'Me' is a charming little track and 'Perfect Match' has some nice production sprinkled through it. 'Dancing Shoes' was awful on first listen, it has grown on me more on repeat listens and i can play it, but i find it a bit too sickly sweet, especially for an album that can be very bass heavy at times. It should have been given to Taylor Swift. Another ballad that falls flat is the last track on the album, 'Shadows', it's not awful, but it doesn't really go anywhere and it's a bit dull.

As a debut album, there's enough to enjoy on 'Night'. I can appreciate that Dev has tried to actually offer an album full of different sounds rather than just singing 'G6' 12 times. She has an interesting sense of direction with some of her tracks and it shows she has real potential to take things further on future records. Outside of a couple tracks, there isn't anything overly amazing about the album, but it's a good introduction to Dev as an artist, it's an easy listen.